Long Beach State will be distributing mass shooting and emergency survival kits, or “Stop the Bleed” kits, around campus in preparation for potential emergencies.
The kit will include tourniquets, gloves, a gauze and bandages. In the event that a shooting occurs, the goal is that those injured will be able to administer immediate attention before responders get to campus.
According to Capt. Richard Goodwin of the University Police Department, victims bleeding out is the most common fatality of mass shootings.
Goodwin credits Saint Mary’s and Dignity Health for establishing training for the use of these kits.
Forty different areas on campus will have a survival kit in place.
UPD has trained over 300 faculty and employees in the last three years in “Stop the Bleed” classes, the press release stated. However, the school is still concerned that there is more preparation and safety needed in the event of a mass shooting.
President Jane Close Conoley, representatives from Dignity Health and the Long Beach Fire Department will demonstrate Thursday at the Student Recreation and Wellness Center how to use the kits.
“I think it’s an excellent recourse to have on campus,” Goodwin said. “I got to tell you I hope we never have to use them because if we do that means something catastrophic has happened and I hope we never have to be at that point on campus.”