No, this is not Babylon Bee or The Onion. Oakland University, located in Auburn Hills, Michigan, has trained its professors and staff to fight off potential shooters with hockey pucks.
Hockey pucks. The professors and staff will use hockey pucks to stop shooters.
Oakland University Police Chief Mark Gordon came up with the idea to use hockey pucks during a training session on how to deal with an active shooter situation since the university doesn’t allow guns on campus.
Gordan used to teach youth hockey. He remembered how a hockey to the head “caused a fair amount of damage.” From The Detroit News:
The university faculty union’s executive committee took part in one of the training sessions that included the concept in June and soon after, decided to begin purchasing and supplying the pucks, said Tom Discenna, president of the American Association of University Professors.Discenna said he’d heard that tossing items — like billiard balls — at a possible assailant is well received in the law enforcement community, and when the chief suggested hockey pucks, the union decided to get on board.”We thought ‘yeah, that is something that we can do,'” he said. “We can make these available at least to our members and a fair number of students as well.”
Gordon admitted no one has done studies on using a puck to stop a shooter, but he believes “a puck is an adequate defense posture along with the use of chairs, staplers or anything else that has weight and can do damage.”
The training program told the staff to run first. If they cannot do this then find a place to hide. Basically only use the puck as a last resort.
From WXYZ:
“Hockey pucks provide the ability to be carried in briefcases or backpacks, are not considered a weapon, and will meet the goal of distracting the shooter,” Gordon added.—“Part of the strategy for fighting is you need to create a distraction to give yourself time as a group in a classroom to rush the gunman so you can get your hands on the gun and take it away from the shooter,” Gordon said.
800 staff members have already received hockey pucks. The administration hopes to give 1,700 to students. The pucks cost 94 cents each and the union has spent $2,500 so far. The recipients do not pay for their pucks.
A few students laughed at this idea:
“I found it, at first, absurd,” said Adam Kalajian, a third-year student at OU. “What good will it do? I mean, there’s an armed person coming in, why would you chuck a puck at them? What’s it going to do? Nothing.”Jacob Gora, a fifth-year senior, echoed the same sentiments.”If I was to give you a puck and I had a gun, would I be able to take you out easily?” Gora asked. “I mean, a puck isn’t going to distract me or stop me from shooting someone.”
CLICK HERE FOR FULL VERSION OF THIS STORY