Popping balloons trigger Simmons shooting scare
The sound of balloons popping created a panic at Simmons University yesterday, forcing the Fenway campus into lockdown as students and faculty hid under desks or ran for the doors in fear of an active shooter.
“I just thought, ‘Am I going to die?’” said one student, who declined to give her name. “I know it sounds dramatic, but all we knew was that we needed to get out.”
At 2:30 p.m. yesterday, police officers were called to the university after a student reported hearing what sounded like gunshots being fired near the library. The school was placed under lockdown as cops tried to find the shooter.
Outside the school, the scene was chaotic, the streets filled with red and blue lights, lots of tears and students streaming out of buildings in hordes. Some could be heard reassuring loved ones on the phone while others cried and hugged each other.
Three students, standing down the street from the campus, described the terror they felt when they received the active shooter alert from the school.
While some of their classmates decided to try to barricade the door, the three women decided their best chance of survival was to run.
“The way that door is set up, you can’t barricade it well and there isn’t anywhere to hide in our lecture hall,” said one of the women, who also declined to give her name. “Everyone was running, so we did. The No. 1 rule with an active shooter is to run — moving targets are harder to hit.”
That woman, an Air Force veteran, said, “I am trained for this, but I still didn’t know what to do. You can practice and train all you want but when the panic sets in, it is just chaos.”
Sarah Baruffaldi, another student, said she had tried to hide in a classroom before changing her mind and running for safety.
“It was so scary, I ran into a classroom and then someone told us people were running outside so I just got up and sprinted,” Baruffaldi said.
Police confirmed later that the incident was all caused by someone popping balloons on the campus.
Police spokesman Sgt. John Boyle told the Herald the balloons were being popped at “a planned activity in the area.” The sound of that popping “echoed” across the Simmons campus.
The school praised the swift response to the alert, stating in a tweet: “Thank you to everyone in the Community who cooperated w/law enforcement as this event unfolded. We know that it was a stressful time but your understanding was & is very much appreciated.”