Middlesex Alerts Public to Emergency Training Drill on Bedford Campus

BEDFORD, MA - Middlesex Community College will conduct an emergency management training drill simulating an “active shooter on campus” scenario on the Bedford campus from approximately 10 a.m. to noon Friday, March 18.

Areas of the campus may be closed to the public during this time, and people should be aware there will be a significant police presence during the drill. Classes are not in session due to Spring Break.

This training drill is organized in partnership with the Bedford, Billerica and Lowell police departments, and NEMLEC (Northeastern Massachusetts Law Enforcement Council).

Members of MCC’s Emergency Management Team and NEMLEC’s STARS (School Threat Assessment & Response System) Program, will be mobilized to coordinate response to the simulation, in conjunction with more than 30 members of the public-safety community.

Approximately 50 Middlesex students, active in student government, and Criminal Justice and Theater clubs, have volunteered to play roles in this simulated shooting incident. The drill is funded, in part, by a grant from the NEMLEC Foundation.

In 2009, MCC was one of only a handful of colleges nationwide awarded an Emergency Management for Higher Education (EMHE) Grant from the U.S. Department of Education to develop and implement an emergency management plan for preventing and responding to campus violence and natural disasters.

Since October 2015, almost 400 Middlesex faculty, staff and students have been trained in personal protection and safety in the event of an active shooter on campus.