BAKERSFIELD, Calif.(KBAK/KBFX) — Gwendalyn Rodriquez, a freshman at California State University, Bakersfield, recounted her fear during a recent campus lockdown. “I was definitely scared. I started crying at one point, and someone who’s never met me before came up to me and just told me everything was gonna be alright,” she said.
On Monday, a lockdown was initiated at CSUB after an unidentified caller threatened to shoot up the campus and blow themselves up. Despite the threat, Rodriquez and many others did not receive an emergency alert. “People were just sitting there acting normal, like, studying still,” she noted, highlighting the lack of awareness among students.
Bakersfield police later confirmed there was no active shooter on campus.
Rodriquez discovered that students must sign up to receive emergency alerts.
Following the incident, CSU Bakersfield’s president emailed students, urging them to register for alerts. “I feel like now that the school’s aware of what went wrong, like they can be proactive,” Rodriquez said.
The university acknowledged the issue, stating,
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CSUB has heard from some students that they did not receive the emergency alerts. As part of our after-action protocol, we are reviewing the entire operation, including the system we use for alerts, with the goal of using the opportunity to improve.