As law enforcement searched for an armed suspect near the MU campus Wednesday night, the university failed to follow established protocols and procedures for alerting the MU community.
It took about 30 minutes for an alert to go out. It said a suspect that engaged police had been shot and killed in Hitt Street Garage. MU issued a statement late Thursday afternoon stating that an initial text alert should have been issued when the university first received a statement from the Columbia Police Department containing the suspect’s description and potential location.
“The MUAlert system was not activated when it should have been and we apologize to our community,” the release stated. “A preliminary review of the MU response revealed that staff members attempting to confirm the exact location of the suspect is likely what caused the delay.”
Associate Director of the MU News Bureau Christian Basi said that some alerts, like weather events, are issued automatically, but a situation like the one that unfolded last night it would have had to be activated by a person.
“We are going to be making changes to make sure the procedures are clarified to make sure a situation like this does not happen again.”
