What the school's "Run Hide Fight" tweet meant
The attack on the campus of The Ohio State University took less than five minutes. One minute later, the social media machinery accelerated to break the news, consume information, process emotion, synthesize truth from rumor and reassure loved ones.
It began with a single tweet from the OSU Police Division coupled with text alerts sent to students.
"Buckeye Alert: Active Shooter on campus. Run Hide Fight. Watts Hall. 19th and College," said the tweet sent at 9:56 a.m.
At 2 p.m. Monday, that tweet alone had been retweeted nearly 2,300 times.
OSU officials said Monday that one man tried to run over students with his car, then fled the vehicle swinging a butcher's knife, injuring 11 people. An OSU police officer, Fairfield native Alan Horujko, arrived at the scene and fatally shot the attacker, Abdul Razak Ali Artan.
Facebook activated their 2-year-old "check-in" feature for the first time in Ohio and only the fifth time in the United States, giving it the vaguely novelistic title, “The Violent Incident in Columbus, Ohio.” The feature automatically asks anyone in the vicinity of an event to check-in to let family and friends know they are safe. Anyone with Facebook friends in the area can then view who has checked in and who hasn't.
Facebook Safety Check: The Violent Incident in Columbus, Ohio
The feature was first announced and deployed in last November in response to bombings in Nigeria later claimed by Boko Haram. It has been activated by Facebook 22 times, including today, covering natural disasters and attacks in 14 countries.
The first check-in deployed in the United States was in June after the shooting at Orlando's Pulse nightclub. It was also used following the shooting of police officers in Dallas, the Chelsea bombing in New York City and the train crash at Hoboken Terminal in New Jersey.
On Twitter, the public could follow several news outlets that quickly responded to the OSU on Monday, but they could also follow local emergency services.
OSU police followed up their initial tweet with more information about sheltering in place and the eventual all-clear sent at 11:30 a.m.
OSU Emergency Management and the Columbus Police Department both tweeted updates to their followers as well.
In addition to thousands of shares, the Buckeye Alert drew some criticism and confusion with the sentence "Run Hide Fight."
Those instructions come straight from the Department of Homeland Security and the phrase is a registered trademark of the City of Houston, who helped to create the national model for surviving an active shooter.
OSU created a video outlining the approach to their students and Homeland Security also has literature on the topic.
The basics: Have an escape route planned and run away from threats. Hide out of the shooters view, locking the entries to your hiding place if possible. Finally, as a last resort, fight the attacker.
Social media continued to be dominated by news of the incident on Monday. Ohio State University and #prayforOSU were both trending on Twitter Monday afternoon.