Beebe praises response of law enforcement, WTC staff

Western Texas College President Dr. Barbara Beebe praised the work of local law enforcement and the faculty and staff following Thursday morning’s lockdown.
Beebe addressed the media, faculty, staff and law enforcement during a Thursday afternoon press conference about the incident that locked down the campus for nearly one hour.
She said an employee with an armored car company was on campus working on the ATM located in the student center. Since the restrooms in the student center were being renovated, he asked an employee about another restroom and was directed to the library. He was wearing a bulletproof vest and was armed, but his identification was not visible to the employee.
Beebe said an employee called Dean of Student Services Ralph Ramon and said a suspicious person was on campus with a gun. She said Ramon did a good job of verifying where the man could be and he called local law enforcement.
Beebe was off campus at the time, but called First Bank and Trust to see if an armored car was scheduled to be on campus Thursday.
“It was difficult to get someone to verify,” she said. “I am thankful to God that it was not an active shooter.”
Beebe said after the press conference that First Bank and Trust Regional President Mark Waldrop was able to confirm it was a person who was working on the ATM.
“He went above and beyond — immediately coming to campus when I called him from Lubbock, staying for my meeting with admin staff and coming back for the press conference, too” Beebe wrote in an email.
Law enforcement secured at least five buildings before it was learned that the person was an armored car employee who was allowed to be on campus.
“I would rather have 100 false alarms than one true incident,” Beebe said. “Local law enforcement was phenomenal in responding.”
However, Beebe said some areas of concerns arose during the situation. The first was the delay in sending out a RAVE Alert to the students, faculty and staff. Beebe said officials on campus wanted to confirm the situation before sending out an alert.
“We will not do that anymore,” she said. “We will send out an alert immediately.”
The incident was first reported at 8:45 a.m. and the RAVE Alert was sent at 9:34 a.m. At 9:45 a.m., an all clear was given and the campus was back to normal operations by 10:53 a.m., Beebe said.
She said some students did not receive the alert because their phones were silenced while taking an exam. The administration will look into an alarm system in campus buildings to alert people of a situation.
Some people thought the situation was an unannounced drill.
“Believe me, we would let you know if it was a drill. You could look on the people’s faces and tell it was not a drill,” Beebe said. “We need to let everyone know what is happening.”
Beebe said the college will not use code words in emergency situations.
“If a shooter is in the library, we are going to let people know a shooter is in the library,” she said.
Beebe said the administration will have to designate a safe zone for faculty, staff and students. On Thursday, many students were directed to stay on the lawn near the Scurry County Museum.
Beebe also learned that staff members on the second floor of the library were not notified of the situation. One employee asked if they should tell law enforcement about people being on the floor and Beebe said they should.
“In the heat of the moment, you can forget about these things,” she said.
Beebe said the situation will be discussed during an upcoming community forum about concealed handgun carry on community college campuses. Beginning Aug. 1, community colleges will have to allow concealed weapons on campus. WTC has not set up a policy about the new law.
Beebe also said people in the community called and texted her with concerns.
“The people of Snyder are incredibly supportive,” she said. “This situation showed how everyone works together.”
Snyder Police Chief Terry Luecke and Scurry County Sheriff Trey Wilson said the college’s staff did a good job throughout the ordeal and students cooperated.