Incident Response FAQ
May 2026
Yes, Jensen Hughes, global safety, security and risk assessment company, provided the summary review in April 2026.
The after action summary review is available online.*
Please send questions to incidentresponse@uncw.edu.
Yes, the university moved early to address necessary changes:
“Immediately following the events that transpired the week of September 15, 2025, UNCW began reviewing policies and procedures related to the safety and security of the campus community. The university proactively addressed many of the concerns identified by our leadership team and the campus community. With the Jensen Hughes After Action Report now complete, the university will continue to review its findings and recommendations to help inform the ongoing evaluation and operation of campus safety protocols, procedures and preparedness efforts. The safety of all students, faculty, staff and visitors remains the number one priority for UNCW.”
— Chancellor Aswani K. Volety
Actions by UNCW include improvements in the following areas:
Emergency Communications & Notification Systems
- Adding dedicated command-level communication pathways and County 911 rollover support during call surges.
- Expanding UPD dispatch surge capacity with additional workstations, backup equipment, and contingency plans.
- Enhancing emergency notification protocols to improve the timeliness, clarity, and transparency of campus messaging during rapidly evolving situations.
Training & Preparedness
- Updating campus emergency response training and preparedness materials to provide clearer guidance to students, faculty, and staff regarding how to respond during emergencies and what actions to take to protect themselves and others.
Public Safety Technology
- Investing in upgraded public safety radio infrastructure, including enhanced signal coverage, expanded channel capacity, and improved emergency dispatch functionality.
- Upgrading dispatch center computing and monitoring capabilities to better support video surveillance, mapping systems, and coordinated emergency operations.
Partnerships, Coordination & Incident Management
- Enhancing interagency response protocols, tactical staging procedures and coordinated dispatch planning with external partners.
- Improving coordination and reduced premature deployment during evolving situations with unconfirmed threat information.
November 2025
The university received a bomb threat that was submitted through the feedback form on the UNCW website. The anonymous bomb threat alleged several residence halls could be affected. No one on campus has reported suspicious activity. Based on a thorough review by law enforcement, the threat was unfounded. No explosive devices were located, and there was no imminent danger to campus.
— Updated Nov. 11, 2025
UNCW Police will continue to investigate the person(s) responsible for this threat in conjunction with local, state and federal law enforcement agencies.
— Updated Nov. 11, 2025
All residential buildings are locked 24 hours a day, and resident students have access only to their assigned hall. Building access is controlled by a card reader, and residents use their university ID card to unlock the lobby door. All traditional style halls utilize a front desk that is staffed 24 hours a day. Residents must also show their ID at the desk upon entry, and all guests must be checked in by their resident host. Hall staff live throughout all of the buildings and serve on a rotating on-call schedule. University Police also make regular rounds in and around the residence halls.
— Updated Nov. 11, 2025
If you see anything concerning, please contact campus police at 910.962.2222 or police@uncw.edu. In an emergency, contact 911. You can also report a crime anonymously by any of the following methods:
- By text: TEXT-A-TIP anonymous crime reporting: Send your message to CRIMES (274637) and begin message with TIP708.
- Crime Stoppers: Call 800.531.9845
- By phone: 910.962.TIPS (8477)
- You may also use the Crime Report form available on the UPD website to report a crime you observed or suspicious activity for University Police review. Your information will remain confidential.
— Updated Nov. 11, 2025
Please reach out to incidentresponse@uncw.edu with general questions or concerns about Tuesday's unsubstantiated threat.
— Updated Nov. 11, 2025
Student safety and the security of our campus community is UNCW’s top priority. Our University Police, the Office of the Dean of Students, Environmental Health and Safety, and the entire Campus Safety team work together to protect the community and educate them on safety strategies. Students who feel unsafe are encouraged to seek support from UNCW Police, Dean of Students, Counseling Services, CARE, or other resources. For employees, the Employee Assistance Program is a confidential counseling and resource program designed to help UNCW employees and their families deal with both personal and work-related concerns.
— Updated Nov. 11, 2025
Depending on circumstances, the university will first communicate any emergency messaging through UNCW Alert via text, SafeZone app, email, phone and the UNCW Mobile app. Students, faculty, staff and families/parents are encouraged to download the apps for updates. Please do not rely on social media channels as your source for emergency alerts and updates.
— Updated Nov. 11, 2025
September 2025
UNCW Police received reports of a possible individual with a weapon on campus. These reports were based on a video posted on social media of a person carrying a weapon in a parking deck. There were no eyewitness accounts. Out of an abundance of caution, the university initiated a “shelter in place” protocol while law enforcement from UNCW and multiple local and federal agencies worked to verify and locate the threat. The shelter in place lasted for approximately three hours. After a thorough review, authorities determined the reports were unfounded. The photo that was circulated on social media was deemed to be inaccurate. An “all clear” message was issued once it was safe.
No. Shots were not fired on campus during the Sept. 18 lockdown. The university utilizes the ShotSpotter Gunshot Location System (GLS) in collaboration with the Wilmington Police Department and New Hanover County Sheriff’s Department. This acoustic surveillance-based system detects gunfire sounds, storing information in a database used by law enforcement for immediate dispatch, follow-up investigations, and statistical analyses. It did not record shots fired.
— Added Sept. 23, 2025
No physical arrests were made that night.
— Added Sept. 23, 2025
Yes. No arrests or charges have been filed at this time, and UNCW Police continue to work with local, state and federal law enforcement partners to investigate the events of Sept. 18.
— Updated Oct. 22, 2025
Late Wednesday evening, UNCW received an email suggesting that an explosive device may have been placed in the UNCW Library. The library was immediately evacuated and a campus alert issued. UNCW Police, alongside local law enforcement and specialized detection canine teams, conducted a thorough inspection of the building and surrounding area. No evidence of a threat was found, and the report was determined to be unfounded.
UNCW Police investigated and determined no reason to believe there was a connection between the two incidents.
— Added Sept. 30, 2025
We understand the events of Sept. 15-19 were unsettling. The safety and security of our students, faculty and staff is our highest priority. Campus residence halls remained staffed throughout the weekend (Sept. 19-21) with regular on-call support, security staffing, and increased campus police rounds. In addition to increased presence at the main campus entrances and foot patrols, the police department expanded its team with additional law enforcement personnel to further strengthen campus coverage and provide enhanced visibility across campus, including the Center for Marine Science. We are grateful for the continued support of Wilmington Police Department and the New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office, who work closely with us to maintain a secure campus environment. The UNCW Police Department is available 24/7 and is prepared to respond to any concerns.
UNCW Police and partner agencies are responding immediately and thoroughly to investigate each report. All reports of threats, including a false bomb threat Wednesday night and Thursday’s unconfirmed gun report, were taken seriously and investigated until proven false. Out of an abundance of caution, on Sept. 19 classes were canceled and operations adjusted to allow pause for the campus community and time to consider future operations and safety measures. We are conducting a full after-action review with appropriate stakeholders to identify improvements in our communication and emergency response. Rest assured that, while all these incidents were unfounded, our response was real, timely, and focused on protecting our campus community.
— Updated Oct. 23, 2025
Student safety and the security of our campus community is UNCW’s top priority. Our University Police, the Office of the Dean of Students, Environmental Health and Safety, and the entire Campus Safety team work together to protect the community and educate them on safety strategies. Students who feel unsafe are encouraged to seek support from UNCW Police, Dean of Students, Counseling Services, CARE, or other resources.
Students, faculty and staff should continue to monitor their email and UNCW Alerts for updates and report anything concerning immediately by calling 911 or contacting UNCW Police at 910.962.2222 or police@uncw.edu .
The safety and security of our campus community is UNCW’s top priority. Our University Police and Environmental Health and Safety work together to protect faculty and staff and educate them on safety strategies. Faculty and staff who feel unsafe are encouraged to seek support from UNCW Police. Please continue to monitor email and UNCW Alerts for updates and report anything concerning immediately by calling 911 or contacting UNCW Police at 910.962.2222 or police@uncw.edu.
The Employee Assistance Program is a confidential counseling and resource program designed to help UNCW employees and their families deal with both personal and work-related concerns.
— Added Sept. 26, 2025
Training for UNCW employees provides a comprehensive overview of critical safety steps the UNCW community should take in the event of an active attacker situation.
Active attacker preparedness Online training
The training outlines the Run, Hide, Fight emergency response recommended by federal, state and local first responders, including the UNCW Police Department.
UNCW departments may also schedule in-person active attacker preparedness training from UNCW Police.
— Added Sept. 25, 2025
UNCW follows established emergency response protocols that are regularly tested and refined. We understand that any delay can feel unsettling and we are committed to reviewing our processes after every incident to improve response and communication.
When reports come in, UNCW Police immediately prioritize active response and investigation to address the potential threat. Campus alerts are issued as soon as law enforcement can confirm essential facts. This ensures that communications are both accurate and actionable. Sending unverified or conflicting details too quickly could create greater confusion or risk. Communication follows as quickly as possible once essential facts are confirmed. In both cases, officers immediately begin investigating the report and coordinating with local law enforcement. The timing of updates is carefully managed to balance urgency with accuracy.
The SafeZone app, known as UNCW Alert, allows UNCW students, faculty and staff to contact University Police for emergency and non-emergency assistance while on campus. You can use this app to quickly share your location, tips and profile details with University Police staff to ensure a timely response and connection to the appropriate resources. Students, faculty, staff, and families/parents are also encouraged to download and use the UNCW Mobile App for emergency updates and keep their contact information updated.
Depending on circumstances, the university will first communicate any emergency messaging through UNCW Alerts via text, SafeZone app, email, phone and the UNCW Mobile app. Students, faculty, staff and families/parents are encouraged to download the apps for updates. Please do not rely on social media channels as your source for emergency alerts and updates.
As always, we are monitoring and evaluating potential threats to our campus community. Our UNCW Police Department is on duty 24/7/365 and we have outstanding support from city and county law enforcement as well. We also work actively with state and federal agencies to evaluate, track and manage such threats.
Comments were turned off to help ensure the safety and security of our campus community — including students, faculty, staff and leadership. This decision was made in response to incidents, including a shelter in place, that required misinformation management, and a de-escalation of campus community tensions.
— Added Oct. 2, 2025
No. Our goal is to foster a space where diverse perspectives can be shared respectfully. We are committed to creating a community where all voices can be heard — without fear, harassment or harm. Our key points will include:
- Engaging respectfully, even when disagreeing
- Avoiding personal attacks or obscene or direct threat inflammatory language
- Prioritizing safety and empathy in all communications
We will be sharing updated community guidelines soon to help support UNCW’s expectations. Once those are in place, and the environment is conducive to safe and respectful engagement, we plan to re-enable comments.
— Added Oct. 2, 2025
All classes were canceled Friday, Sept. 19; assignments and exams were postponed. Students in fully online programs consulted with their instructors about the impact on their courses. The university operated under Condition 1 for employees through 11:59 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 21. UNCW reopened on schedule Monday, Sept. 22, with enhanced security measures in place.
Many services operated on a reduced schedule through the weekend (Sept. 19-21). Campus Recreation, dining, and shuttle services remained open but may have operated on reduced schedules. Always check relevant websites for updates. Students, faculty and staff were advised to monitor UNCW Alerts and email for updates throughout the weekend.
— Updated Oct. 23, 2025
UNCW offers parents and families the Seahawk Family Hub, where they can access campus resources, deadlines, announcements and connect with other family members and supporters through this interactive platform. The online portal provides families with a curated news feed, calendar of important dates and events, helpful resources and more based on their customized interests. Families and parents are also encouraged to download and use the UNCW Mobile App for updates and to keep their contact information updated.
The vigil held on the UNCW campus was hosted by the university chapter of Turning Point USA, a registered student organization. The event was held in honor of Mr. Kirk at 6:30 p.m., Monday, Sept. 15 at the Amphitheater on UNCW’s main campus. The university provided the chapter’s student leaders with guidance, security and support, as we would for any registered student organization requesting support for an event.
Several hundred campus and community members attended the vigil hosted by the UNCW chapter of Turning Point USA. Attendees participated in a calm and peaceful event in honor of Mr. Kirk. At the end of the event, speakers thanked the university, especially UNCW Police and Student Affairs staff, for providing effective support.
As a public university within the UNC System, UNCW adheres to the institutional neutrality requirements outlined in policy 300.8.5, Equality within the University of North Carolina. Under the policy, UNCW offices and roles must not be organized around or advocate for contemporary political or social issues; no individual or office may be required to express or endorse specific beliefs or viewpoints; and offices cannot promote political or social concepts through training, required beliefs or programming.
Prior to the vigil on Sept. 15, students painted the spirit rock near Fisher University Union with artwork in Mr. Kirk’s honor. The spirit rock is not a permanent memorial to Mr. Kirk. It is a platform for freedom of expression, one of two such spirit rocks on campus, and the content featured on the rock is not permanent.
The Turning Point USA student organization began painting the rock at approximately 10:30 a.m. and finished painting at approximately 6 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 15. The other students approached the rock and proceeded to paint over part of it at approximately 11 a.m. on Tuesday, Sept 16. The Turning Point USA students remained at the rock until 6 p.m. at which time they stepped away from the rock providing full access for other individuals to paint.
Students typically paint the rock multiple times per week as a tablet for free expression and a place where student organizations often advertise their upcoming events. Out of courtesy, students are asked to leave artwork and messaging for at least 24 hours before repainting, but no policy requires this. The university does not actively monitor the rock nor enforce circumstances where students don’t honor the 24-hour courtesy. The university also does not censor the rock’s content, unless content is deemed to be a violation of law.
The university has completed its review of the rock situation under the Code of Student Life and taken appropriate action. Any actions as a result of that process, up to and including disciplinary action, constitute protected information under the Federal Education Rights and Privacy Act.
— Updated Oct. 23, 2025
The university has completed its review of the rock situation under the Code of Student Life, including conducting interviews with individuals present during the incident, and taken appropriate action. Any actions as a result of that process, up to and including disciplinary action, constitute protected information under the Federal Education Rights and Privacy Act.
— Updated Oct. 23, 2025
Based on conversations with students involved, the disagreement occurred over the content of the artwork and the 24-hour courtesy timeline. UNCW’s campus includes two spirit rocks that serve as a platform for freedom of expression. With nearly 300 registered student organizations on a campus and nearly 20,000 students, there are times that students do not agree with every group’s mission, actions, or messages. We encourage students, and the entire UNCW community, to engage in freedom of expression disagreements with respect and civility.
This week (Sept. 15-19), individual students, faculty, staff and the university have received harassing and, in some cases, potentially threatening communications via social media, phone, and email. Students and employees have reported these concerns to UNCW Police and/or other appropriate offices on campus. Following its usual protocol, the university will continue to respond promptly to harassment, threats, or actions that put others in danger. UNCW Police maintain a comprehensive 24/7/365 presence on campus. We are confident in their dedication and service to our campus community.
— Updated Oct. 23, 2025
We are taking this step as part of comprehensive measures to de-escalate concerns about safety that emerged in September. Painting on both spirit rocks, located outside the Fisher Student Union and Wagoner Dining Hall, was not allowed temporarily. Freedom of expression permits previously issued for University Amphitheater and Wagoner lawn were rescheduled for later dates. These actions went into effect at 8 a.m. on Monday, Sept. 22.
— Updated Oct. 23, 2025
A new reservation system to facilitate use of the UNCW spirit rocks went into effect on Monday, October 6, at 8 a.m. At that time, UNCW lifted the temporary pause on the use of campus spirit rocks and designated freedom of expression spaces.
— Updated Oct. 23, 2025
Students continue to have a variety of avenues for free expression, including displays under UNCW Policy 02.360 and 02.370 Policy on Demonstrations, spontaneous expressions that do not materially disrupt campus activities and align with time, place and manner considerations and facility use and student organization reservations. If you have questions about these avenues, please contact staff in Campus Life at 910.962.3915 or clreservations@uncw.edu.
— Added Sept. 23, 2025
UNCW Police and university leadership work closely with event organizers to ensure security plans are in place for speakers, programs and other gatherings. These include both visible and behind-the-scenes measures designed to protect both participants and the community. While no campus can eliminate every risk, UNCW coordinates active, intentional measures to provide a safe environment for all involved.
— Added Oct. 23, 2025
Both WECT and WWAY shared videos of their interviews with Chancellor Volety on their news websites.
— Added Sept. 23, 2025
The university’s goal, as always, is to provide a safe and secure learning environment where the robust exchange of ideas and information happens in a civil, ethical and respectful manner. It will take consistent and intentional effort, kindness and grace from everyone — students, faculty, staff and the community — to achieve this goal.
Please contact the university via phone at 910.962.3737 or by email at incidentresponse@uncw.edu.
— Updated Sept. 26, 2025
Process Review of Response to Campus Emergencies of September 2025
Prepared by Jensen Hughes Inc.
Prepared for John Scherer, General Counsel, UNCW
April 20, 2026
The week of September 15, 2025, the University of North Carolina at Wilmington (UNCW) experienced a series of unprecedented events that affected students, staff, faculty and the community at large. The response to these events required a series of actions and responses that touched most units across the campus, as well as external support resources. We observed a sense of urgency and diligence in process improvement by the UNCW stakeholders that was energizing and supportive of our work. From our introductory conversations and throughout the project, the leadership team has actively sought improvement and implementation, even ahead of our report of findings.
Fortunately, the UNCW leadership team in place that week was experienced, and many held distinct institutional knowledge that was put to work in addressing the issues faced that week. The UNCW leadership team exhibited strong problem-solving and decision-making skills, the ability to adapt to new challenges, and good cohesion as they worked through the problems to address public safety concerns and identify solutions to the growing controversy and public discourse. Our work identified that the UNCW team exhibited a proactive approach and responded to issues in real time. We also identified that after the incident, UNCW leadership continued to identify process gaps that were prioritized for implementation and began tracking them through their implementation. A strong sense of accountability and implementation of improvements was noted in most of our engagement with the UNCW stakeholders. Our work has identified areas for continued improvement, including establishing formal policies, protocols and training, which will allow UNCW and its stakeholders to be more confident in its ability to respond efficiently and effectively to emergencies to better safeguard the campus community.
1. The UNCW emergency management focuses the majority of its attention and resources on natural disasters, given its geographical susceptibility to seasonal hurricanes. Its emergency planning practices are supported by high-level forecasting and trend information that attaches to hurricanes. However, the events of the week of September 15 were spontaneous and cascading, creating difficult challenges for the existing emergency management structure.
UNCW has adopted a crisis decision team and an emergency planning group that activate in response to emergencies. The respective teams demonstrate cohesiveness in adherence to structure in their work. The teams have significant experience operating in extended emergencies. However, much of the planning and work has a foundational perspective of a known and emerging threat, which is distinct from the magnitude and spontaneous nature of the September 2025 week in question.
2. UNCW’s emergency notifications shared with the campus community were a source of frustration for leadership and the campus community, including the responsiveness, message content and updates.
The UNCW Police Department (UPD) is responsible for disseminating emergency notifications. The bomb threat notification was sent at 12:15 a.m. on September 18, 2025. It informed recipients about the evacuation of Randall and Discovery Halls as a precaution. UPD summoned explosive detection K-9 teams for assistance, which captured the attention of some of the campus community prior to them receiving the emergency notification. Timing and the minimal information contained in the alert notification led to speculation and concern. Later in the day of September 18th, when a video of an armed gunman purportedly on campus surfaced, the intensity of that incident overwhelmed the department telecommunicators and officers, and they were unable to send the initial alert message out. The chief of police designated the Office of University Relations to send the alert notification. The Office of University Relations is not designated or trained as a 24/7/365 emergency response unit. They were not as familiar with the process, contributing to the delay.
3. UNCW needs more active threat monitoring. While various departments use and review social media as it relates to UNCW, there should be a dedicated threat focus monitored 24 hours per day.
The impact of social media on UNCW following the memorial vigil was unprecedented, demonstrating the need for continuous monitoring. The Office of University Relations works with social media but is focused on outward messaging and the university reputation. One UPD officer conducts social media monitoring, but it is not consistent nor are they trained or equipped with threat assessment monitoring tools. The Office of University Relations uses a digital platform to manage posts to the six social media channels that it directly oversees; it is not staffed, equipped or trained to provide 24/7/365 threat assessment monitoring across dozens of platforms. The speed and intensity of the social media focus surrounding the events of the week was not anticipated and more established monitoring may have provided greater advanced warning of the sentiment circulating online. While UNCW did not have the internal capacity, they leveraged federal and system office partners for support.
4. The incidents and events of the week of September 15 were unprecedented and challenging for the campus community. Despite the absence of casualties, the totality of the week’s crises was traumatic for some. There is campus sentiment that the recovery support was not adequate to address some of the more intense and sustained trauma.
Our campus community outreach revealed varied levels of confusion, frustration, trauma and anger regarding UNCW’s actions during and after the incident time frame. The Chancellor’s personal engagement efforts were welcomed but some sought more information, guidance and recovery support on how they should seek to return to normal campus operations after such an unprecedented disruption.
5. There have been inconsistencies in the application and accountability of the training across the campus community and UNCW is updating the active assailant training.
Some campus employees did not recall having been trained while others reported they personally felt or witnessed others that could benefit from enhanced training and guidance. Faculty reported students who were unclear on their reaction to the siren and subsequent alert, including what to do relative to run, hide, fight. Some faculty expressed uncertainty about their roles as classroom leaders in an emergency.
6. UNCW has a contracted call center service for use when campus operators get overwhelmed, but the university has not established a process for initiating that service. Overflow calls were initially directed to other departments and eventually to the call service; however, insufficient information was shared for these responses to be effective.
During the early days of the week of September 15, when UNCW began receiving an influx of phone calls, many reportedly fraught with obscenities and anger, leadership opted to forward calls to internal departments with the capacity to answer calls. The employees lacked specific guidance or talking points nor were they trained or equipped to handle the volume or intensity of the calls received. That decision had downstream consequences on the potential wellness of the affected employees. When the university did leverage the call center service, it was not fully prepared to provide the operators with the information needed for optimum effectiveness.
7. UNCW has two distinct threat assessment teams, both providing valuable support to the campus community. There are opportunities to enhance the reporting process by ensuring 24-hour intake and review to ensure urgent threats can be expeditiously addressed. Additionally, they could proactively leverage information relevant to at-risk individuals. This may include those at-risk individuals who react unfavorably to a particular campus or national event.
The Student Threat Assessment Team is a responsive and dedicated group focused on supporting students in need. However, if a student wants to report concerning behavior about another student after business hours and is not comfortable contacting a campus police officer, there is no clearly defined process to ensure a 24-hour review for a reported threat. Additionally, the Student Threat Assessment Team has compiled a significant data set of student challenges that could be used proactively to reduce future threats. For example, if a student has demonstrated an unfavorable response to a particular speaker or campus event previously, the opportunity exists to check in with them in advance of any similar speaker or event, to preemptively de-escalate another potentially unfavorable response.
Threat Assessment Team and Response
Strength — UNCW has designated teams of university staff who leverage their individual and collective institutional knowledge and processes to create a responsive and collaborative approach to assessing threats.
Opportunity for improvement — UNCW is working to streamline the various policies and guiding documents to create a more intuitive process for the staff and campus community at large. Additionally, they are formalizing member training, augmenting reporting protocols and ensuring a multi-disciplinary review of all threat information.
Social Media Monitoring
Strength — Social media monitoring occurs across multiple UNCW departments, and they leverage the system office and various external partners when needed. In spring 2026, the Office of University Relations enhanced its social listening capabilities through a third-party service.
Opportunity for improvement — UNCW is examining opportunities to create dedicated trained personnel to conduct social media monitoring to ensure continuity, redundancy and minimal gaps in coverage.
Emergency Notification System
Strength — UNCW has effective emergency notification system (ENS) tools that are clearly described on the campus web page. They have multiple methods to communicate and have established redundancy to ensure messages can be swiftly circulated when the need arises.
Opportunity for improvement — The collective UNCW team acknowledged that the messages sent the week of September 15, 2025, could have been improved and provided additional context. While the unique circumstances involved that week influenced the messaging process, the team is committed to greater transparency and timeliness as evidenced by the subsequent bomb threat messaging from November 11, 2025, that was timely and informative. The team continues to review messaging protocols to ensure efficacy.
Communications Protocol
Strength — UNCW had an existing contract vendor to provide relief for call overload. The review revealed the service should have been initiated earlier in the week.
Opportunity for improvement — UNCW has worked to streamline the contract vendor activation process and include collaboration in messaging. UNCW has developed training and a call transfer/rollover process to address campus call overload. The UPD dispatch center was inundated with calls for service that quickly overwhelmed the available personnel and capacity of the technology. UPD has established a contingency plan with additional phone lines, computers, designated personnel and guiding procedures to expand the dispatch center services in the conference room, essentially creating a second full-service dispatch center with even greater capacity and capability than the existing center. Enhancements to the UPD radio system provide for greater communication capability.
Special Events/Operations Plans
Strength — UNCW has a streamlined process for notification of special events and collaboration among university departments to develop an appropriate operations plan. UPD typically takes the lead on the development of the plan, guided by their special event policy. The operations plan for the memorial vigil on September 15 included the necessary elements to ensure safety and security.
Opportunity for improvement — UPD could benefit from assigning a member of the University leadership team to provide executive-level oversight of each special event to ensure that all circumstances are considered before clearing an event. They should also consider greater clarity in the event contingency plan should circumstances require additional personnel.
Incident Command Operations
Strength — UNCW’s incident command system (ICS) operations are guided by the Emergency Operations Plan, Crisis Decision Team and Employee Policy Group and UPD’s General Order. The respective teams quickly engaged and worked collaboratively throughout the week of September 15 and the recovery phase.
Opportunity for improvement — UNCW is reviewing the Emergency Operations Plan and associated staff familiarity to ensure they continue to provide timely responses to campus emergencies. The university should consider activating the emergency operations center for more crises and emergencies.
Coordination with Partner Agencies
Strength — UPD has cultivated exceptional working relationships with their law enforcement partners in the region. The level of assistance from those partners was exemplary during the challenging week. Additionally, University Information Technology Services (ITS) has also established strong working relationships with federal, state and system office partners to assist them when the need arises.
Opportunity for improvement — When the report of an armed gunman on campus circulated, an unprecedented number of self-dispatched officers from numerous federal, state and local law enforcement agencies converged on the campus, creating a level of angst among the campus community and a significant resource management issue. UPD is working with their local law enforcement partners to refine an external agency response protocol that includes off-site staging, pre-designated campus grid map and dispatch/communications.
Training
Strength — UPD strives to provide adequate training for campus emergency response and ENS protocols, including routine and on-demand run, hide, fight training.
Opportunity for improvement — UPD continues to explore opportunities to increase and enhance emergency response training for the campus community. Most recently, training and guidance materials were updated to better clarify expectations during emergencies and leadership roles and responsibilities. UPD and the Office of University Relations collaborated with a vendor to complete an updated Run, Hide, Fight training video, finalized in March 2026. The process incorporated feedback from faculty, staff and students.
Technology
Strength — ITS leadership were exceptionally responsive during the week of September 15. They actively engaged in real-time problem-solving and mitigation measures. They have continued to pursue additional enhancements to create greater preparedness and contingency plans.
Opportunity for improvement — The UPD dispatch center needs more adequate monitors and network bandwidth to effectively utilize the video surveillance system and the associated geographic information system. Further, they need to be able to fully access the access control and video surveillance systems at the same time.
Recovery Support
Strength — UNCW Chancellor Aswani Volety conducted several campus meetings at the end of week to connect with the campus community. The in-person interaction was well received in comparison to a written message released mid-week.
Opportunity for improvement — UNCW should continue to provide opportunities for the chancellor to connect with the campus community during and after a crisis, as appropriate. The university leadership should remain cognizant of the emotional impact associated with a crisis and provide adequate support for the campus community’s psychological well-being.