A sign in the middle of the commons plaza that reads \"VCU POLICE EXERCISE SIMULATED EMERGENCY Realistic sounds and behaviors will be utalized\"
A photo of a VCU Police police exercise message board from a previous training at the University Student Commons. (File photo)

July 20, 2023

VCU and city of Richmond to conduct active-shooter training exercise on Aug. 2

Realistic simulation at the University Student Commons will help numerous agencies practice a coordinated emergency response.

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Virginia Commonwealth University and the city of Richmond will conduct an active-shooter training exercise on Wednesday, Aug. 2, 2023, on VCU’s Monroe Park Campus. The exercise is in collaboration with the Virginia Department of Emergency Management and local, regional and state public safety agencies.

This training gives law enforcement, public safety, emergency management and communications teams the opportunity to practice a coordinated response to an emergency event in a VCU facility.

The exercise consists of a simulated emergency inside the University Student Commons building, located at 907 Floyd Ave. The exercise will be realistic, with a heavy presence of law enforcement officers, EMTs, firefighters and emergency vehicles in the area. There also will be simulated sounds inside the building, including gunfire and crowd panic. Volunteers will role-play as injured victims and witnesses in the scenario, both inside and outside the building.

Media representatives are invited to cover this exercise.

The Virginia Department of Emergency Management requests that media representatives register for this event by July 28, 2023:

  • To register, email VCU Public Relations Coordinator Amelia Heymann at heymannam@vcu.edu. Include names of reporters and videographers with their individual email addresses and cellphone numbers.
  • Registered media representatives will receive a detailed schedule for filming opportunities prior to and during the exercise.
  • John Venuti, VCU’s associate vice president for public safety and police chief, and Petula Burks, Richmond’s director of strategic communications and civic engagement, will be available to speak with reporters before the exercise begins.

Campus impacts

The University Student Commons and the Grace E. Harris Hall Auditorium, as well as the walkway between these facilities, will be closed to the public during the training. The area will be clearly marked with signs, and security officers will be on site to answer questions and direct pedestrian traffic.

Road closures on Aug. 2 from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. include:

  • North Linden Street between Park Avenue and Floyd Avenue
  • Floyd Avenue between North Harrison Street and North Cherry Street
  • North Cherry Street between Floyd Avenue and West Main Street
A map of the impacted roads
A map of the training area and road closures for a VCU and city of Richmond exercise on August 2, 2023.

VCU will use multiple communications channels, including mass emails and social media messages, in advance of the training to increase awareness about the exercise for university community members, local neighborhoods and area businesses.

On the day of the exercise, VCU will issue VCU Alert text messages to VCU Alert subscribers; the messages will announce the start and end of the exercise. Anyone can subscribe to VCU Alert emergency messages by visiting: alert.vcu.edu/signup/.