 "Photo: Photo Courtesy of Sutter County Sherrif's Department")
A Yuba City man threatened on April 18 to go on a killing spree that "will make Virginia Tech look mild" but did not manage to cause any harm before turning himself in.
Jeffery Thomas Carney surrendered to Yuba City authorities late Thursday.
Carney, 28, called his pastor and family members the night of April 18 to tell them that he had an AK-47 assault rifle, improvised explosive devices and poison, according to the Sutter County Sheriff Department. Carney said that he wanted to commit suicide-by-cop. He did not specify who or what he was targeting.
Sutter and Yuba county schools were closed Friday at the request of law enforcement.
Carney's threat came two days after the deadliest shooting in United States history, when Seung-Hui Cho, 23, murdered 32 students and faculty at Virginia Tech before killing himself.
University Police have been preparing for these types of events in case of an emergency even though each situation is difficult to assess, said Eric Reichel, University Police chief.
"For example, if Whitney Hall had an active shooter, how we would respond to an active shooter in the lobby and how we would respond to a shooter in the ninth floor would be completely different," Reichel said.
The best solutions for students are to evacuate if an active shooter isn't nearby or barricade themselves in a room, he said.
Acts of violence are spontaneous and cannot be prevented, so people need to be cautious of their surroundings, Reichel said.
"We can never predict what's going to happen," he said.
Reichel said that regardless of past campus shootings around the country, University Police is always updating technology and training methods. University Police is looking into a system that would allow the officers to relay information via text messaging to each faculty, student and staff member who has a cell phone number, he said.
At least one person in a barricaded room will probably have a phone, so they can tell those who don't have one, Reichel said.
Meriam Library Room 440 is used as the Emergency Operations Center, he said. Radios, computers and telephones in the room can be used to notify people on campus and alert them if a situation occurred similar to that at Virginia Tech.
Since people are always walking around campus, a shooter situation would make it more difficult to prevent tragedies, he said.
Carly Shepherd, 19, said that violent acts that happen at schools might give people ideas to do the same thing. Shepherd said that she has a sense of a connection with the students at Virginia Tech because she is also a student.
"People always think that it'll never happen to us," she said. "It can happen to anyone."
Security and safety of students have been a top priority on campus, President Paul Zingg said in an e-mail.
"I am confident that we have trained people and appropriate policies and protocols in place here to deal with most challenges to the physical safety of our campus and people," Zingg said. "But, we are not perfect and we are not absolutely safe from insane acts of violence."
California has had numerous school shootings in the past.
On May 1, 1992, Lindhurst High School in Olivehurst, an hour south of Chico State, experienced an emergency situation.
Twenty-year-old Eric Houston went to his former high school with a shotgun and a rifle. Houston held 80 students hostage until he turned himself in. He killed three students and a teacher and wounded 10 others.
Santana High School in San Diego County also suffered the effects of a school shooting.
More than six years ago, a 15-year-old high school freshman killed two students and wounded 13 others. Charles Andrew Williams shot them from inside a high school restroom, where he turned himself in shortly after. He was tried as an adult.
Houston was sentenced to death, while Williams was sentenced to 50 years to life.
Emotions toward the Virginia Tech shooting were mixed.
Peter McPherson, 20, said he wasn't sure what to feel when he heard what had happened at Virginia Tech.
"You don't know whether to be angry or sad," he said. "I do know that it's disgustingly wrong."
Increasing security on campus wouldn't be the answer, the math major said.
"There is not a lot we can do to prevent random things like that," McPherson said.
Sophomore Samantha Frye said that shootings could occur at any time. People should go about their daily lives but with more precaution, she said.
"We should live our lives regularly, but we should also be worried," Frye said.
Sergio Delgado can be reached at sdelgado@theorion.com
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