errorlevel.org

I try not to write much about my occupation. I prefer to have that separation between work and non-work life. Nevertheless, as a bus driver (mass transit bus, not a school bus) who was working on Northern Illinois University's campus at the time of Thursday's shootings, I feel compelled to tell my story.

On Thursday, February 14th, I was driving a transit bus around the campus of Northern Illinois University. These buses are used to ferry students around campus, the surrounding neighborhoods, and to DeKalb's main shopping district on Illinois Route 23. There are two routes known as circle routes which make loops around campus. I was driving a Circle Right route which takes a right turn when leaving the Holmes Student Center bus turn-around, and if viewed from above, would make a clockwise loop around campus.

Map of the nearby area of where the shooting took place. Building 31 is Cole Hall, the site of the shooting. Building 36 is the Holmes Student Center. The paved loop between Building 36 and Buildings 35 and 34 is the Student Center bus turn-around, where my bus was parked.

Every bus except one eventually finds its way back to the student center. When we get back with a couple minutes before our next time to leave, drivers are allowed to step off their buses for breaks.

At around 3:05pm, I stepped off my bus for a break before having to leave on my next run at 3:10pm. I had been at work since 6:40am and wasn't due to get off work until 5:10pm. I ventured inside the student center (building 36 on the map) to fetch myself an energy drink. As I was walking back out to my bus, several girls ran by crying saying that there had just been a shooting. Everyone started clearing off my bus and I turned back around and went back inside the student center. I called the office and it was the first the office manager had heard of it and as I was on the phone, 3 or 4 police vehicles had entered the bus turn-around.

In the lobby next to the bus turn-around there were people crying and scared. The office manager then said I should get back to my bus to hear what we were going to do, since the supervisor-on-duty had just found out about it. I got on my bus, closed the doors and we were told that we were not to go to another one of the bus turn-arounds nearest to the main classroom buildings. We were told to continue on our routes but to avoid going to the DuSable Hall bus turn-around.

I began to pull away from the curb, and people were wanting on my bus. It did cross my mind that the shooter might try to get on a bus. However, I could not in good conscience refuse to pick up people who wanted to get away from the area, especially if there was a shooter in the area. When I was near the exit of the turn-around, we were told not to go to the student center.

I turned right onto Lucinda Avenue and went on with my route, thinking that we would pick people up who wanted to go home and take them back to the dorms and then stay away from the area until further notice. The next stop was on Lucinda and given the time, 3:15pm which is when Thursday classes get out, there was a large crowd ready to get on my bus. At the next stop, the Engineering and Business building turn-around, I picked up passengers and then proceeded.

Seconds after I had turned back onto Lucinda Avenue from the Engineering building stop, we were told to have all the buses go to a certain location, that it was police orders. We were to keep our doors closed and our passengers on our buses.

On my way back to the designated rendez-vous point, I was met by two supervisors, one of whom helped hold up traffic for me so that I could manuever my bus around traffic for my impromptu re-route.

Over the radio, each bus was called one-by-one to verify that all buses (and drivers) were okay. It was about 1.5 hours before the police said it was okay to let our passengers walk home if they wanted to, or we would provide rides home in the supervisor van. And, it was about 2 hours after being told where to meet that the drivers were told we could take the buses back to the bus yard and that we could then go home.

Things that stand out in my mind

I was very lucky in that my passengers were quite understanding about being told they couldn't leave the bus. In fact, after I parked the bus at the rendez-vous location, one of them pulled the stop-request cord (which rings a bell and lights op the "Stop Requested" sign) and that got a lot of laughs and lightened the mood.

Cole Hall only has two classrooms. These are giant lecture halls with a stage for the professor appropriate for holding classes of up to 300 people. There was no way that the shooting could have been prevented or the number of fatalities or injuries diminished.

The police response was very impressive. They had their act together. No sooner than people who were in the classroom and had ran to the student center made it there did the police cars swarm the area. There were 3 or 4 cars in the bus turn-around by the time I left, and I saw at least 3 or 4 more heading down Lucinda as I was heading towards my first stop.

One passenger had a voicemail from someone who was in the classroom. He said he couldn't get in contact with that person, but it could have been because several of the major cell-phone providers in the area had their networks overloaded by the mass of calls.

Another passenger had a camera and I gave my e-mail address to him so that I could get pictures he was taking of the helicopters over the area. Our rendez-vous point was from a distance so we could see the helicopters over the student center and Cole Hall.

I am surprised at how calm I was. I was able to follow our emergency procedure (which was put in place after the December threats and campus closing.) However, I was also amazed at how much my hands were shaking after I parked the bus.

I did see room for improvement in our emergency procedures. I will make sure those ideas are presented.

Nothing has been said about the professor for the class. The shooter was on the stage where the professor would normally be. I was able to determine who the professor for the class was, but nothing has been said in any news outlet mentioning the professor by name or otherwise.

I'm glad I didn't drink my energy drink right away. Those things are diurhetics and I was stuck on the bus for two hours. Also, I don't think my heart could have taken all that caffeine along with the stress and anxiety of the situation.

Also, we had a threat of something like Virginia Tech happening at NIU found scrawled on a dorm bathroom wall in December which (along with icy conditions outside) caused a full university closure and lock-down. Nothing had been said about the investigation into the threat. The threat was reportedly written by two different people. Are these two events related? For the sake of everybody, I hope they are.

I got today (Friday) off work, and I don't know when I will get to go back to work, but I'm ready. I don't know what the mood is going to be like on campus or what kind of anxiety will be present. However, we should not be afraid. We cannot let events like this consume our collective conscience and scare us into a life in terror. We must return to normalcy for our own sake, and as a sign that we will not be deterred from our desire to live in a peaceful and free society.