As the 10-year anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks approaches, there is news of a potential but unconfirmed al Qaeda threat to the District. Darrell Darnell, senior associate vice president for safety and security, spoke with George Washington Today about the precautions the university is taking and how students can stay informed.
Q: What do we know about this threat?
A: Based on information that’s been publicly announced, there are credible but unconfirmed threats against Washington, D.C. and New York City; however, we don’t know of any specific institutions or locations within those cities that are being targeted. There is also reason to believe the mode of attack that the terrorists are going to use are what we call vehicle born improvised explosive devices (VBIED), or car bombs as they are referred to in the press. We haven’t been notified that there is a specific threat against George Washington University, and we’ve been in constant contact with federal officials and the Metropolitan Police Department.
Q: Are the GW police taking any special measures this weekend?
A: Over the last couple of weeks we’ve made looking for VBIEDs a point of emphasis in our daily briefings. Officers have been trained and know what to look for as they patrol campus.
Q: Should students consider changing their weekend plans?
A: No, not at all. We don’t see the need to change any plans based on the information we’ve received.
Q: People are often urged to report "suspicious activity.” What kind of behaviors specifically should students be on the lookout for?
A: Anything that seems out of the ordinary to you. If you go through your normal routine and you see something that seems out of place—like a package, or a car that’s been sitting in place for a number of days— report it by notifying the University Police Department at 202-994-6110 for a nonemergency and 202-994-6111 for an emergency.
Q: What should students do if an attack or emergency does happen?
A: Contact the University Police Department at those numbers, stay where you are and listen for authorities to give you direction on what to do. For updates about the current threat, I’d encourage everyone to visit GW Campus Advisories and to sign up for Alert DC so you can get text messages about what’s going on. The following link also provides information on Emergency Preparedness and key support agency contact information: http://www.gwu.edu/~gwalert/PDFs/emergency-preparedness-and-ready-gw-pocket-guide.pdf. This document is wallet sized and I would encourage everyone to keep it in their wallet at all times.