Pitt students hold 'die-in' following delayed response from university after active shooter hoax call
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — The University of Pittsburgh's Emergency Notification System failed to alert students this week, and now students want answers.
It follows a report of an active shooter inside Hillman Library that resulted in police gunfire and 82 minutes of confusion.
On Friday, students with Do Better Pitt held a "die-in." They sat in the grass for 82 minutes, the amount of time between the hoax 911 call and the moment the university alerted students.
"We're really looking for more transparency and especially more timeliness," Sharon Bennett said.
"It was especially concerning because our first awareness of what was going on was through Twitter videos and Instagram and side chat," Bennett added. "Very graphic and very traumatizing videos of people fleeing Hillman and jumping off of barriers and officers firing shots into the building."
Students want Pitt to immediately fix the Emergency Notification System and understand those minutes matter.
"If there's enough time for 30 cops to arrive at Hillman Library, 30 cop cars because I saw it all happen in my dorm, I feel there should have been time for us to receive a message on what was going on instead of having to hear the gunshots and see people running down Forbes Avenue," Zoe Fontecchio said.
The university admits "shortcomings" in the ENS system and said it is "committed to doing better." The university also said in response to student complaints about locked doors in the library, the deputy fire marshal toured the building and said no fire code violations occurred.
"We don't want to be put in these situations where we don't know what's going on and the university is not protecting us and our safety," Fontecchio said.
The university says it's reviewing all of the emergency notification tools, saying it will immediately make all the necessary changes.
Students are planning a town hall meeting on Monday to demand more transparency.
