PTC takes closer look at campus safety plan

NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KTHV) – Thursday's shooting at a community college in Oregon is sparking discussions across the country about how prepared community colleges are for incidents like this.

At Pulaski Technical College in North Little Rock, staff and students say this latest incident is forcing them to take a closer look at their own safety plan.

"It makes me feel like 'what would I do in that instance?' Where would I go, what would I do to protect myself?'" said Bobby Scott, a sophomore at Pulaski Technical College.

It's a question sophomore, Bobby Scott, says keeps replaying over and over again in his mind.

"It's spur of the moment, because it's really hard to think about what you would do," said Scott.

A shooting at an Oregon community college on Thursday is urging schools across the country to do the same.

"Well, you hate to say prepared, because nobody is ever prepared for that kind of incident. I feel like we do a very good job, and the faculty and staff and the president gives us the equipment and the ability to do that," said Mark Stafford, Director of Police and Public Safety at Pulaski Technical College.

In addition to 13 armed and certified police officers patrolling the campus, Pulaski Technical college requires all staff to participate in active shooter training once a month.

"A lot of campuses may not have armed officers, and I think that's so important because the individual is always armed if they are going to do something," said Scott.

No matter how prepared, the school says this tragic incident should be used as a lesson for all.

"We are constantly looking at what our plans are, making sure they are updated, not only with our folks here on campus, but with our North Little Rock Police contingent, and making sure that we are prepared as possible in case something happens," said Margaret Ellibee, President of Pulaski Technical College.

"It just makes you reaffirm what you're doing is correct, and makes you reevaluate everything you do," said Stafford.

The former president of Umpqua Community College, where Thursday's shooting occurred, said the school has only one security officer on duty at a time, and that person isn't armed. Joe Olson retired in June from his position as president.

Olson says last year, one of the biggest debates on campus was whether the school should have armed security officers. He says the college had three training exercises with local law agencies in the past two years, "but you can never be prepared for something like this."