Parkland tragedy touches everyone, even FGCU students

Concerns grow after mass shootings at continue to happen at schools and people fear it could happen to their loved one.

Florida Gulf Coast University students are preparing for the worst to make sure college student is safe.

How do students go about their days knowing a gunman could walk on campus at any time? It’s a hard reality to face. But some students say they think about it a lot.

No one is far removed from the Parkland tragedy. We are parents, children, educators, and students. Many people here in Southwest Florida know the Broward County area well.

At FGCU, university police have evolved their strategies to adapt to mass shooter scenarios over the years.

Campus Police Chief Steven Moore says they take the openness of their campus into consideration.

“We can’t lock down , we need to secure in place, it’s an open campus anyone could walk on here. It can for sure happen here because anyone is allowed to come on it.” Moore said.

Moore also wants students to download an app the university utilizes that sends safety alerts called guardian eagle.

He says about a third of their 15 thousand students currently use it.

Moore said “We have an event like what happened this week we’ll send out an email and we’ll have several hundred more people sign on to the systems.”