CHARLOTTE, N.C. — It was a scary ordeal for those at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill Monday after a graduate student reportedly shot and killed a professor on campus. It was also terrifying for a Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools teacher, whose daughter was on campus when it happened.
However, Suzanne Hepworth was able to walk her daughter Leigh through what she needed to do because of the active survivor training she received through CMS.
“Not in a million years you would ever think that you have to do something like this, truly in a million years and your daughter sends you that the second week of school,” said Hepworth, a teacher at Starmount Academy of Excellence.
UNC-Chapel Hill was put on lockdown because of the armed gunman reported on campus. Leigh Hepworth recalled the moment the alert went out.
“I was just having lunch with a friend. And we got a text from Alert Carolina just telling us that there was an armed and dangerous person on or near campus and that we should get inside and avoid windows,” she said.
“It hits like very close to home knowing that it was in one of our science laboratories here like literally not even half a mile away from where I was in the building,” said Leigh Hepworth.
Although Suzanne Hepworth said she could not physically get to her daughter, she used the skills she learned through active survivor training with CMS as her guide.
“My first thought was where are you, are you safe, and can you escape if you have to and she said yes,” said Suzanne Hepworth.
“I think just like having them there to tell me that everything is hopefully going to work out and like remain calm and stay protected was like the most important,” said Leigh Hepworth about her mother's guidance.
Gun violence on school grounds is an increasingly common reality for students of all ages across the country. According to Everytown For Gun Safety, there have been at least 85 incidents of gunfire on school grounds so far this year. There were att least 183 incidents in 2022, at least 202 incidents in 2021, and at least 96 incidents in 2020.
“Heaven forbid something happens at CMS. We are a hard target and we are getting harder because we are prepared and we are trained,” said Detective Wes Eubank, who trains nearly 2,000 CMS staff members each year.
“Every employee who has friends and family is now equipped with the knowledge to save somebody's life without even being there,” he said.
Eubank teaches the ABCs of Active Survivor Training; avoid, barricade, counter, and survive.
“We have seen time and time again that barricades save lives and it's really easy to do,” said Eubank. “So I teach them how to barricade. I have a door and I show them how to barricade that door.”
The barricade training in particular was something Suzanne Hepworth was able to pass down to her daughter in a time when she needed it most.
“Fortunately, if you know the skills of what to do if it does happen it prevents you from living in fear,” she said, adding that the training kept her calm as she walked her daughter through what to do.
This was certainly not what students and staff expected to happen on the second week of school at UNC Chapel Hill.
After more than three hours, the lockdown was lifted, a major relief for Suzanne as she remained in constant contact with Leigh."
“It was awesome because she was safe," said Hepworth of her daughter while holding back tears, "she was in her room and she FaceTimed us, and she had her pillow and she was just talking to us."
Leigh Hepworth said this incident is a reminder to always be aware of your surroundings.
“Stay alert, stay aware, listen to the authorities, and try and just get through it without panicking," she said, "that's really the only thing you can do at the moment."
Classes were canceled on Tuesday and Wednesday. The university is making mental health resources available to support the UNC-Chapel Hill community.
Contact Jesse Pierre at jpierrepet@wcnc.com or follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.