MISSOULA — We have a follow-up about Sunday’s threat of gun violence at the University of Montana.
There was a heavy police presence on campus after two 911 calls were made threatening violence involving a firearm.
The calls threatening violence with a firearm were received at around 9:15 p.m. The campus then went into a secure mode for the safety of those on campus at the time.
Over 35 officers from the University of Montana Police Department and the Missoula Police Department responded to the calls and found no evidence of violence on campus.
University of Montana Director for Strategic Communications Dave Kuntz told MTN about steps that UM took to ensure the safety of students and visitors.
"When responses like last night happened, the university follows a set of policies and procedures that we have making sure that students and visitor safety is of the highest priority," Kuntz said.
"And so we go through that checklist which involves making sure that we're addressing the actual event itself, but also communicating to folks about what's happening, both our students and those who are on campus visiting," Kuntz continues.
The University of Montana is just one of many schools across the country that has fallen victim to "swatting." It's the action of making a phone call to report a serious crime or threat to emergency services.
While it can be hard to tell the difference between a serious call and a swatting call, Kuntz says that the university relies on their relationship with the police.
"When it comes to swatting, we really rely on our law enforcement officers to make that consideration. If it's obvious it's a swatting attempt from the beginning, they'll take that action. But like things like last night, when we do think that there might be some sort of safety at risk, we're going to be quick to respond," Kuntz said.
"And like I said, within 3 to 5 minutes the officers were on scene and able to determine that there wasn't major event. But be able to have that process in place, deploy those resources when needed is of the highest priority," he continued.
Kuntz also said that the university has made sure that the safety policies at UM are ready to go at any moment in the event of any incident.
"[The] safety of our students is of the highest priority. And the university puts in a lot of time and resources to make sure that we're prepared for events like last night. And the quick response time by police — the aggressive communication that went into students and employees — is proof [positive] of how much we've worked to have that process as tight as possible. So we think that whenever there's an instance — whether it happens in the middle of the day or at a late Sunday evening — that we have the processes in place to respond as quickly as possible."
The calls were later deemed a hoax, but the investigation continues. Anyone with information is asked to contact UMPD at 406-243-4000.
