Hands up.
Nothing in your hands.
Put your phone in your pocket.
Or your bra.
Your hands should be empty as they are to the sky.
Don’t have anything in your hands.
Don’t.
Watch for the gunman.
Don’t try to be a hero.
Don’t approach the gunman.
Don’t.
Follow directions if you meet a responding officer.
Don’t ask questions; you will get your questions asked in a timely manner.
Don’t distract the officer.
Don’t.
*
I was on my way home after working as a research assistant on Monday. This was after a 10-hour shift in the research assistant workroom.
It was a standard day, some filing, some working on assignment from the PhD nurse I am assigned to. Some light Excel work.
I was released a little early.
You see, the head of the department knew I had worked half the night the night before. I wanted a nap before my shift started at 2100.
I was 60 minutes into my 90-minute drive home when I heard about the shooting at UNC-Chapel Hill. Details on NPR were kind of scarce and then on to the next story.
I read all about it before my nap after I arrived home.
Shooting at a lab. One person dead, shooter in custody.
In the immediate aftermath, the campus had been locked down.
Wednesday morning, the front page of the UNC’s student newspaper, the Daily Tar Heel was entirely text messages that had been sent during the lockdown.
Simple.
Stark.
From friends and family members reaching out to their loved ones on campus.
From students reaching out to each other, desperate for a connection.
To make sure loved ones were safe.
But are we safe?
If you haven’t seen it, Google the Daily Tar Heel.
Read the fear in the tweets.
And assure yourself that gun control is just someone else’s issue.
Dispatches from the Evening Shift 