McGill University wants the school’s staff and students to be prepared for one of the most chilling situations imaginable: an active shooter on campus.
The school has produced a 12-minute long educational video that realistically portrays members of the university community dealing with an armed person in the halls and gives instructions on how to increase your chances of survival.
It was sent to faculty members on Thursday with a request that it be shown to as many students as possible, though they are able to opt out if they wish.
"We wanted students to have the option to leave the classroom and consult with our councilling and mental health specialists in case they need to," said McGill student life provost Ollivier Dyens. "It's difficult to watch, difficult for me to watch. There's no easy way to talk about this topic."
The video notes that an individual is more likely to be struck by lightning than injured or killed in an active shooter situation but that there is a benefit to thinking through emergency situations and numerous people have requested the information following other highly-publicized school shootings.
Montreal has a tragic history of killings in its schools.
- Ten years ago this week, student Anastasia De Sousa was killed and 16 other people were injured in a shooting at Dawson College.
- In August, 1992, a disgruntled associate professor at Concordia University shot and killed four colleagues and injured a staff secretary.
- In December, 1989, 14 women were killed and 14 other people were injured in a shooting at Ecole Polytechnique.
Concordia has had a similar video, which was made in the United States, posted to its website for some time.
"It was deemed to be very effective," said Concordia spokesperson Chris Mota. "It's apparently the perfect length of time, so that is the one that we use."
