Calgary’s Mount Royal University is acknowledging tools in place to alert students and staff of emergencies didn’t act as intended Monday afternoon during a shelter in place incident.
“MRU did its best to respond, but faced challenges relating to the complex nature of the incident, and some of the tools used,” the school said in a statement Tuesday.
A representative said several messages were sent through the ‘MRU Now’ app, email, and social media, despite claims made by students, professors, and other staff on social media that they were not adequately informed of the incident.
“Like many apps, MRU Now can go into “hibernation” or be off-loaded from devices if not used regularly,” the statement reads.
Employees and students are asked to download MRU Now or check their notification settings to allow notifications from the app.
“We continually review our internal processes and responses related to security incidents,” the post-secondary said. “We are grateful to our teams in these areas and especially grateful that in the end there was no threat to anyone on campus.”
Officers were on campus for almost an hour before issuing the shelter-in-place. Those on campus were told to stay put shortly before 4 p.m. Monday after reports of an individual walking around the area with a large knife.
Police later determined the man was a campus chef on his way to work. He was taken into custody following the incident and could face charges.
Seventeen police units and an estimated 30 to 40 officers responded to the call.
School officials recognize the presence of police in large numbers on campus can be distressing. Resources are available through the MRU Wellness Centre.