Alerts were sent on app during shelter in place order: MRU

Mount Royal University in Calgary (file photo)

Mount Royal University has responded to concerns that its emergency app did not work properly during Monday’s shelter in place order on campus.

The alert was issued by email and in the MRU Now app after a man was seen carrying a knife on campus.

The order was lifted a couple of hours later.

“While in the process of clearing the scene, officers received information that the individual was a staff member working as a chef for the university,” police said Monday evening.

“After verifying this information, the shelter in place was lifted.”

Police said a man was taken into custody, then released without charges. Police said the investigation is ongoing and charges may be pending.

There were no injuries.

Some students and staff say they didn’t receive any alerts.

Alerts were sent

MRU maintains that alerts were sent on the app and is reminding users that the app can go into hibernation if not used regularly and notifications settings must be turned on.

Doug King, a criminology professor, said he was on campus when the lockdown happened along with a group of students who he said were fully informed.

“The first email was from MRU security just to be cautious and police were on campus. We were calm, cool and collected. Then we get an email and an MRU pushout to shelter in place,” King said in an interview Wednesday.

King said a police officer showed up a short while later and suggested they leave the building.

He said criticism of the university isn’t fair, that Calgary Police were professional and there was no sense of panic.

“It was all ‘Hell’s broken loose, Mount Royal has no contingency plan’ and things like that, which I think is just grossly unfair. Was it perfect? No. Was it good? Yeah,” he said.

Though nobody was injured, MRU Students’ Association President Tala Abu Hayyaneh urged students to reach out if they needed extra support after the incident.

“We ask students that if they are facing interruptions or any impact to their studies that they should reach out to their students association, reach out to their professors,” she said, adding that students experiencing distress can reach out to wellness services on campus.

With files from The Canadian Press and CTV News’ Damien Wood and Cassidy McMackon