MSU administration is implementing mandatory active violent intruder, or AVI, training for all students, staff and faculty beginning in the fall following the February mass shooting. Prior to the shooting, training by MSUPD was given primarily by request.
Currently, AVI training is voluntary for most students, faculty and staff. Student Life and Engagement employees in dining facilities and residence halls are the only employees required to complete the training, deputy spokesperson Dan Olsen said.
Between January 2020 and December 2022, the Department of Police and Public Safety provided 42 AVI trainings: six in 2020, eight in 2021 and 28 in 2022. Olsen said the steep increase in 2022 reflected a decrease in demand during years heavily affected by COVID-19.
In 2023, three trainings were given before the shooting, one of which took place at 11 a.m. on Feb. 13, the day of the shooting. So far, four training sessions have been given in the month and half following the shooting.
MSUPD also leads secure-in-place drills created by the Emergency Management Division in 2017, according to the 2022 Annual Security and Fire Safety report. The drills are conducted in residence halls at least twice during the academic year and once over the summer, the report said.
In order to participate in the shelter-in-place drills, an individual must complete two AVI trainings. Olsen said during the summer, two sets of six Emergency Action team training sessions are given to approximately 150 to 300 staff members. These training sessions are broader but include AVI concepts.
Starting in the fall, AVI training sessions will be mandatory for all students, staff and faculty. Training logistics like platform, delivery and timing are still under discussion.
“We also want students and faculty and staff to see this is an important tool for them as well, to protect themselves and also help protect our community,” Olsen said.
The current AVI training provided by the Department of Police and Public Safety defines active violence and mass shooting. The presentation also discusses mass shooting statistics.
A slide, titled “Being Prepared at MSU,” asks participants to attend an AVI session, check that their MSU Alerts are on, evaluate their office’s emergency evacuation plan and “mentally rehearse” where they would go in an emergency. The presentation says faculty and staff will be looked at to provide direction in an AVI incident.
The training session also defines the “run, hide, fight” instruction. “Run” includes evaluating the situation, moving away from the source of danger as quickly as possible, leaving belongings behind and reporting the threat.
“Hide” describes what individuals should do to secure in place. The slide states to hide only if safe escape is not an option, to call 911 only if it is safe to do so without alerting the attacker, lock and barricade doors and windows, silence cell phones and remain quiet.
The presentation also suggests to “spread out”, not huddle in groups and to “quietly develop a plan of action in the event the shooter enters your area.”
“Fight” is encouraged as a last resort, “only when your life is in imminent danger should you attempt to disrupt and/or incapacitate the shooter.” The presentation states individuals should work as a team when possible, commit to actions and use improvised weapons.
Finally, the training session reviews police response and what individuals should do when the police arrive along with prevention efforts and resources.
