Active Shooter or Lockdown

When instructed to lockdown, it means there is an immediate or imminent threat to your safety, most commonly in response to an active shooter.

During a lockdown, people should barricade themselves in a room, preferably with no windows. Doors should be closed and locked from the inside. Everyone should remain locked indoors until an "all clear" message is given – normally through a Los Rios RAVE Alert.

The primary difference between a lockdown and a precautionary lockdown is the proximity of the possible threat.

Precautionary lockdowns are initiated when law enforcement identifies a potential threat in the immediate vicinity of a college campus but not directly on the campus. With this action, people are instructed to remain indoors with doors closed and locked from the inside. As with the lockdown, everyone should remain locked indoors until an "all clear" is given – normally through a Los Rios RAVE Alert.

Because we don’t always know specific details about the severity of threats nearby our campuses – especially threats being managed by other law enforcement agencies – we should treat precautionary lockdowns in the same way we treat any other lockdown.

A lockdown means there is an immediate or imminent threat to your safety, most commonly in response to an active shooter. Shelter-in-place is used to protect students and staff in the event of a natural disaster or potential exposure to a dangerous chemical.

When instructed to shelter-in-place, people should select an interior room or rooms with few or no windows and keep all doors and windows closed. Locking doors from the inside and barricading the room are not required. Examples of incidents that would require people to shelter-in-place include:

• Earthquake
• Flood
• Local fire and smoke
• Industrial accident
• Chemical spill
• Broken natural gas pipeline
• Materials being transported through our community
• Terrorist attack

If a campus is locked down due to an active shooter, then law enforcement will close all entrances and exits to the entire campus to the degree possible (based on the physical limitations of our facilities and campuses). This means people will not be able to enter or leave rooms or buildings until the situation is under control. Remaining locked down is for your own personal safety.

People can enter or leave campus during a precautionary lockdown, though it is highly discouraged.

In this type of incident, we will not stop individuals from leaving the classroom or campus. However, for your own personal safety, we recommend that you follow instructions and remain indoors.

If someone wants to leave a building or classroom, then they can do so at their own personal risk. No one should prevent another person from leaving.

All doors need to be manually locked by the owner-user.

Because we direct that everyone stay where they are and lock their offices and classrooms, classes will be disrupted during a lockdown. All faculty, staff, and students will be notified via the Los Rios RAVE Alert if classes will be cancelled.

All students and employees will receive a Los Rios RAVE Alert at the beginning and end of an emergency situation. Periodic updates may be sent out via email to employees or via Los Rios RAVE Alert.

If you are an employee who is receiving updates, then please inform the students in your area of the latest information.

If you are a student or employee, then it is critical that you set up an account with Los Rios RAVE Alert and/or the Los Rios RAVE Guardian App to make sure you receive all vital information and timely updates.

Since every emergency situation is different, it is not possible to determine exactly how long a lockdown or shelter-in-place will last.

A shelter-in-place can last from a few minutes to a couple of hours (or longer).

A precautionary lockdown can last from one to three hours (or longer).

During an active shooter lockdown – and depending on the situation and size of the campus – it can take law enforcement anywhere from six to eight hours (or longer) to secure and render an entire campus as safe.