- A petition to add locks to all doors on campus has garnered over 30,000 signatures in just a few days.
- The university says doors were locked from the outside, not from the inside due to an electronic emergency lock system.
- Watch now to hear one of the petition organizers explain what they want out of this.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
An online petition demanding that all rooms at Florida State University be fitted with physical locks since Thursday's deadly shooting on campus has tallied over 30,000 signatures as of Monday afternoon.
It's calling into question why physical locks weren't there in the first place.
I'm Alberto Camargo your College Town neighborhood reporter.
I'm going to the university for answers and learning how it factors into the calls for increased safety measures on campus.
"The student that was at the door said these doors don't lock. And someone was like what do you mean they don't lock? At that moment, we felt helpless."
Meghan Bannister and her friend Sarah Walker have now turned their terrifying experience into action.
In just days, their petition spread across the community.
Commenters on the webpage tell firsthand accounts of feeling unsafe in what they say were unlocked classroom doors inside the HCB building.
I confirmed with a university spokesperson how secure the building was during the shooting.
HCB has an electronic lock system that restricts access to the building and rooms past 5 p.m.
After that it's only accessible using an FSUID swipe card.
The same system also automatically locks all doors from the outside when activated in emergency situations.
I relayed this information to students like Larry Frukhtman, who says it wasn't common knowledge.
"I don't think a lot of people know that, so if that's the case then it kind of defeats adding a lock on the inside. It doesn't cost a lot to add a lock, so maybe for peace of mind. A lot of people didn't know that, so adding them wouldn't hurt either."
Bannister says electronic locks should not be the only thing to rely on for safety in an active shooter situation.
"Having students be better trained on lockdown drills. Having faculty and staff understand protocol for what to do when something like this happens. If this situation can just have people understand the safety measures that are in the room that they're in.
Bannister says she's already had conversations with school officials about how to create something positive out of Thursday's tragedy.
"Nothing was out of malice for the school. We want to be incredibly solution-oriented and ensuring that the only thing that is brought out of this situation is further solutions, further safety protocols."
While the university continues to rebound, FSU says it is continually reviewing and assessing our security protocols to ensure the safety of everyone on campus.
In College Town, Alberto Camargo, ABC27.
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