Officials are revising procedures for handling crisis situations on campus.

On Oct. 22, police received reports of armed men on South Campus and shots fired at Pearce-Ford Tower.

Officials said the incident appears to be only a physical fight that started on South Campus and continued to PFT.

Western is editing protocol for alerting people on campus of emergencies based on response to the incident, said Bob Skipper, director of media relations.

Western will try to find an effective way to communicate without cell phones, said President Gary Ransdell at a press conference on Oct. 23. Systems were jammed because of the high amount of calls made on Oct. 22.

Western is also looking at procedures for securing buildings, Skipper said.

Campus Police Chief Robert Deane requested that all buildings be secured after receiving the reports. That means campus buildings would be locked, but no one would be forced to stay.

Some students reported they were told they couldn’t leave buildings because they were locked down.

There needs to be training and communication among faculty and staff about exactly what to do in crisis situations, Skipper said.

Some also complained that text messages warning students of possible threats weren’t sent out soon enough.

Reports of shots fired came at about 11:48 a.m. The first text message, saying there were armed men on South Campus, came at about 12:30 p.m. The second text message, reporting shots fired near PFT, came at about 12:48 p.m.

Skipper said a text message was sent within 10 minutes of when he was contacted about the incident.

Police needed time to get a handle on the situation before contacting Western officials, he said.

Telecommunications sends out alerts at the direction of Skipper, who gets information from police, Skipper said.

Ransdell said he’s pleased that the emergency communication system worked and officials responded quickly.

Western officials’ response to the reports was appropriate given the information available to them, he said.

“Any threat or aggressive behavior will be taken seriously,” he said. “I must state that uncontrolled aggressive behavior in this world of catastrophic events has consequences which often go beyond the individuals involved.”

All five students who were detained and interviewed Oct. 22 in relation to the incident deny participation and have been released, Ransdell said.

But the information police got from the students was helpful, he said.

The names of the students aren’t being released.

Later reports that shots were fired haven’t been validated by other witnesses, Deane said.

Police are continuing the investigation, he said.

Reach Michelle Day at news@chherald.com.