On Wednesday September 26, 2007, a masked Hiraman was spotted walking through campus in a hooded sweat shirt, carrying a black-powder rifle wrapped in a dark plastic bag. When Christopher Benson, a cadet and student at the University, witnessed the man walking past in a Halloween-type mask, he immediately began following Hiraman. Campus security officers quickly approached the scene and with the help of Cadet Benson, disarmed the man and took him in custody. Police arrested Hiraman shortly after.According to 7Online, Hiraman was carrying a .50-caliber rifle, loaded with exactly one bullet. Now my question is, why one bullet? Although this case isn't based around the fact that the suspect was carrying around a one-rounder, it's something I'd like to quickly address. His one bullet leads me to believe that he intended to use it on a certain victim. Why else would he walk around with exactly one bullet? (On a side note, it was reported Hiraman traveled to Poughkeepsie to purchase this rifle).
"Hiraman's father, Pat Hiraman, said the incident was "a misunderstanding" and his son, who lives at home near the school, "would never harm anyone."" (7Online). A misunderstanding? Right. I don't buy it.
Research: St. John's University addresses the incident by immediately issuing a Press Release. The main page of their website reassures visitors all is safe on their campus. The calming welcome note that reads, "Safe Outcome After Gunman is Apprehended at St. John’s University’s Queens Campus" directs visitors to the Release in which it comforts all students, parents, professors and anyone else potentially affected by this incident that the gunman matter is under control and nobody is hurt. The Release also provides Press Conference Photos for further reassurance that this situation is being dealt with in the most professional way possible.
St. John's also did their research prior to their gunman incident by acknowledging that the Virgina Tech shooting is likely to occur on their campus as well. They researched an alert system which would notify everyone on campus of an emergency, in which they implemented a "Text Messaging System".
Planning: With their research, came planning. As mentioned above, post the Virginia Tech tragedy, the University administered an Emergency Response Plan at the beginning of the 2007-08 school year. The plan includes its “Text Messaging System,” which notifies students of an emergency via text-message. The down side to this is that students must register, and those who failed to do so, did not receive the text-message. This is a good strategy that all bodies on campus should be required to sign up for.
Communication: I found a lot of evidence on the communication tactics dealt with this case. St. John's realized there was absolutely no delaying the communication of this matter, and updated their website with all sorts of information related to this topic. A Press Release was their primary message, in which contact information for Dominic Scianna, Director of Media Relations, was available for parents and media inquiries. Also, an information link is provided for updates on the incident reported as they become available. St. John's is continually updating their website and welcoming all questions and/or concerns.
The University categorizes website communication to news pertaining to prospective students, current students, faculty & staff and alumni & friends. All of whom are affected by this event.
Although I believe St. John's University did very well in communicating the problem here, they did so via Internet. The older population (i.e. grandparents) do not go online for their news source. Therefore, it leaves them in the dark. I am not certain on whether or not the University published the Press Release in major newspapers, but this would be a great alternative for these individuals.
Evaluation: I was unable to find any information that measured the severity of the gunman incident. Clearly, the University went great lengths to address this matter by utilizing the media outlets, as well as their own, to reach out to the public . I don't doubt that they may analyze the problems with on-campus violence in the near future and evaluate an action plan in minimizing such an occurrence from ever happening again. I hope to see a decline in on-campus violence over the next couple years.
Click here to watch the latest on the gunman: Video (I could not get the video clip to work, for some reason).
7 comments:
Sarah, thanks for joining the blog discussion and contributing your analysis of a very timely and relevant case. This has lots of meaning for all of us in a college campus community.
I liked the way you carefully identified the various messages, tactics, and channels that St. John's used in this case. I would agree that the university's initial response was very fast and effective. One news report even noted that the cell phone in the pocket of the student-police cadet who grabbed the gunman vibrated with the text message announcement while he still had the gunman in his grasp. That's fast!
I also agree that SJU seemed to have their crisis communication plans in place and well rehearsed. Of course, this is understandable given the recent, similar cases at Virginia Tech and in Delaware. Still, credit goes to SJU for being able to put these communication plans in effect so quickly. There seemed to be virtually nothing but praise from various publics for the way SJU handled the situation.
Finally, yes, we would need to do much more research to identify other channels of communication that SJU might have used -- good point. For these brief discussions, it may not be feasible to go into that level of effort. But the Internet is a wonderful tool and you found lots of useful information to support you analysis.
Thanks,
Mark
Sarah, I agree with Mark. You did an excellent job with the analysis of all the channels used by SJU and explained how well they used their sources. It doesn't surprise me, also like Mark said, that they have rehearsed the 'on-campus crisis' plan, but it's good that they have because something like this can never be anticipated.
I also like how you included your own feelings and opinion throughout the blog, but not sacrificing the important information needed to grasp what happened. It impressed me how with every face given, whether it be something you found or read through the press release, you were able to separate fact from opinion; good job on that one!
Lastly! Great topic! I thought this was one of the scariest things because it's so close and then after reading that he got his gun for P-town...HA, that tells ya a little something. Furthermore, it's funny how great technology aids us in this day-in-age because one of my classmates received an IM on his cell phone from a student at SJU telling him what happen. AMAZING right?!
PSA - If you have any problems and you just can't talk to your friends, be sure that you know we have professional services here on campus to help you deal with your problems. For more information, please visit, Marist Counseling Services
Sarah, thanks for posting about the St. Johns case. After the tragedy that recently occured at Virginia Tech I can imagine this is a topic that hits close to home for most of us. And if it dosen't well, like Devon said, the gunman allegedly came to Poughkeepsie to purchase his gun- yikes!
You did a great job identifying the channels and strategies used by St. Johns to share the news with the college community and the public. This case is a prime example of living in the age of technology. Not only was I able to hear about the gunman on the five o'clock news (when it happened around 2) but students at the university were informed of the situation immediatley via text message! Technology also made it possible for St. Johns to execute proper public relations tactics following the event. The press release published online provided people with the facts and contact information in order for concerned family and friends to be eased in such a situation. It seems St. Johns public relations practices in regards to this case were up to par. Hopefully the university has been as successful with their on-campus PR as they have been when dealing with the media.
I think that we need more people like the cadet who took this guy down. I think you did a great job with this case. Where did it say he alledgely came to PO-Town for the gun? I couldn't find that, but maybe I skipped it in an article. I think you are right when you said you thought this guy had some bad intentions, and he's been on prescription drugs lately. Drugs and guns cause problems, not just guns.
It's extremely easy to get guns outside of NYC, some may be surprised to know that you can in fact purchase any gun except pistols without a permit. The only thing you have to do is register the gun if it is new, used guns aren't always registered. I'm not huge on gun control but a little more regulation may help avoid situations like this.
Also just for information, it was a black powder rifle, which only has one shot, or bullet. So one bullet because that's all a black powder rifle can shoot before reloading. They are the easiet guns to get also, they are cheap and you can even get them by mail-order catalogs such as Cabella's.
Sarah,
I think this blog gives a lot of important information. The topic of school shootings is on the rise and it is good to hear about a school that was prepared for the situation. Based on the information that you provided it seems the St. John's was well prepared for an incident such as this and they communicated information quickly and efficiently. Their text message system is also a great way to get in touch with students. Almost everyone carries a cell phone on them at all times. I think that more schools should implement this system and learn a lesson from the great planning and communication that St. John exhibited in response to the situation.
Heather, you can find information on his alleged Poughkeepsie gun purchase here: http://www.wnbc.com/news/14211196/detail.html?dl=mainclick
Sorry I didn't include this link in my initial entry.
Also, I had a feeling the rifle was a one-rounder but when I did a search for this particular rifle, was unable to find any evidence to back it up.. Or maybe I was just unable to filter through all the gun-jargon.
Sarah,
Thanks for posting this particular topic. I hadn't heard anything about it until reading your entry tonight, and I'm glad I now have a lot of knowledge on the incident.
I think the best thing that St. John's has going for it right now is their proof that they took steps to make their students safer on campus in lieu of VT. The text messaging strategy seemed to work as well as hoped for, and I think more schools should follow in suit with this. They knew their audience- college students- and figured that they would more than likely all have their phones on them, and that would be the most effective way to reach them in a crisis.
The next step the University should take should be to get more information out to students about registering their # to receive texts from the school. As a student, I know I would sign up for such a thing and they should encourage everyone to register.
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