“I think there’s a shooting in the neighborhood.”
When Viran, of an elementary school in DC, got that message, he knew he had to take it seriously.
The first step was to verify the information.
But as people’s cell phones dinged and the local news scrambled to keep up, it only took a few minutes to realize that it was true.
There really was an active shooter in the area.
“Things Just Went South”
“It all happened very, very rapidly; things just went south real fast,” Viran says as he recalls a day he’s not likely to forget.
Within 10 minutes a SWAT team arrived. Even the Secret Service appeared.
Viran says, “There were literally parents outside the building, crying, shaking, wondering, ‘Is their kid OK?’ . . . The law enforcement had to clear the building. They had their long guns drawn. The kids were crying. Staff was crying.”
In the midst of all of this chaos, easy and clear communication was essential.
Stability in the Nightmare
Viran used Mobile Text Alerts to help disseminate information quickly as it became available. He had, after all, set up the text alert system in case of emergencies just like this.
“I was able to send out key updates when we were ready to share [them] so that we’re not panicking parents. We were able to give very correct information in a timely manner.”
Being able to send texts like that helped bring some stability to the frantic nightmare everyone was facing.
“It was the best thing ever because I was very quickly able to ping and text all of the parents and stakeholders with one text. . . . I was able to control the communication in a very, very scary time.”
(Thankfully, the shooter never approached the school and no students or staff were harmed!)
Viran believes that in emergency situations, there’s no better way than text messages to get information out to a large group of people quickly. Email takes too long and people don’t always check it right away. But texts reach people quickly.
How Do You Handle an Emergency?
“Imagine if we didn’t have [a text alert system]. What would the situation have been? . . . If you don’t have text alerts, how do you handle an emergency?”
In fact, the system worked so well in this emergency situation that Viran plans to ramp up his use of the service (for example, sending messages related to the school’s aftercare program).
“To have a tech service like this where you can send out texts, it made a really, really bad situation just a little bit better. And to give that peace of mind… you can’t put a price tag on that.”
What’s the first step in getting a text alert system for your school? Get a free 14-day trial of Mobile Text Alerts and see how it works.
After all, as Viran says, “It’s a no-brainer.”
Author bio
Sam Pelton is the content director for Mobile Text Alerts, an SMS service that gives businesses an easier way to reach customers and audiences. He has 12 years of experience working with the texting platform in the areas of customer support, quality assurance testing, content creation, copywriting, and marketing strategy. He’s also a father of 6 and loves a good (bad) dad joke. Connect with him on LinkedIn.