False alarm in Clark County

In July 2016, UNLV students and faculty received an active shooter alert, which was later determined to be a false alarm.

The situation was deemed “all clear” just four minutes after the alert was accidentally activated, school officials said.

The alert read “ACTIVE SHOOTER! EMERGENCY! There is a suspect with a firearm on the UNLV campus.” It also included, “THIS IS NOT A TEST!”

Minutes later, the second announcement read, “The situation at UNLV is now all clear.”

The false notification was triggered by a UNLV police employee, said UNLV Chief of Police Jose Elique.

But in times when digital or internet service is not available, the agencies retain the old-school analogue system used about five years ago: a radio console in which they can dial in and make statements to be broadcast on TV and radio.

If Nevadans were issued a nuclear missile warning, there would be few options for staying safe, Steinbeck said.

“Any time you’re dealing with destructive power of that nature, there is no master plan as far as where residents are going. It’s time, it’s distance, and it’s shielding,” he said, adding that residents would have to try to go underground or become less exposed.

“There is no ability for Clark County to shelter 2 million residents and

hundreds of thousands of visitors,” Steinbeck said.

In addition to alerts, the department uses social media to push out warnings, and the Southern Nevada Community Preparedness app gives more detailed information on how to be prepared for emergencies and how much food, water and supplies they should have on hand in any sort of event, Steinbeck said.

“I hope mistakes made using the app can shed any light,” he said.

“And won’t affect any judgment or policy toward this tool, because we need to have this available.”

Contact Briana Erickson at berickson@reviewjournal.com or 702387-5244. Follow @brianarerick on Twitter.