BOULDER, Colo. (KDVR) — The Boulder Police department is still looking for armed suspects who were openly shooting just blocks from the University of Colorado campus.
“I was walking home on Broadway and I did hear the shots,” Mateusc Muszynski, a sophomore at CU, said.
Muszynski said he was close enough to his fraternity house and was able to get inside. Jack Olson, who’s in the same fraternity, said they put their house on lockdown until more information became available.
“The alerts we’re getting now is peer to peer. I heard about it from some of my friends, who heard it from some of their friends,” Olson said.
It wasn’t until four to five hours later Olson said he received any information from the university about what had happened.
“There was no communication even though we are 500 feet away from campus,” Olson said.
Muszynski and Olson said they are both still feeling a little unsettled following the shooting but they want the university to review the alert policy.
“I’m coming here to get an education not get killed,” Muszynski said.
Both students said students who live off campus have a disadvantage when it comes to emergencies. Instead of announcements on social media, Olson said he wants more information sent directly to his phone via text.
“There was an announcement last year that the school didn’t want to send out alerts without knowing what’s going on. But I think there is a way around that like there is a shooting here stay out of the area,” Olson said.
The University Police Department told FOX31 and Channel 2 on Monday that they are open to feedback from students about the alert system. They also stated that after any critical situation, like the shooting Sunday, it is the protocol to review the steps that were taken.
“We are talking petitioning or protesting to get the school to hear our voices,” Muszynski said.
CU did roll out a new alert system back in September of this year with three different tiers:
CU Emergency Alerts
- Emergency notifications sent after a confirmed immediate threat to safety on CU campus.
- Weather-related safety concerns
CU Safety Alerts
- Email notifications sent throughout campus and surrounding areas warning of a crime taking place on or near campus.
- Sent in cases of sex offenses, homicide, robbery, car theft, arson, hate crimes domestic violence, arrests related to drugs or alcohol and weapons.
CU Advisories
- Notifications sent throughout campus about non-emergency topics.
- These notifications are used for road closures, power outages, construction and police activity near campus.