The shooting at Northern Illinois University has brought the effectiveness of Iowa State’s alert system in an active shooter situation to the forefront.

Coming just a week after the first ISU Alert system test, an act of violence in DeKalb provides an example of a situation authorities would have no power in preventing.

In the event of an active shooter situation on campus, ISU Police Cmdr. Gene Deisinger said every effort would be made by both ISU Police and Ames Police to neutralize the situation.

The ISU Alert system would be used to spread warning messages as quickly as possible, but Deisinger said relying solely on the system is not enough.

“The first priority would be stopping the harmful situation,” he said.

“In the event of an active shooter on campus, we would use the alert system as rapidly as possible. The intent would be to update the ISU Alert system as soon as possible.”

In neutralizing the harm, Deisinger said, every law enforcement agency would be alerted and as many officers as possible would be dispatched.

Ames Police would work in conjunction with ISU Police and any other department in as many ways possible, said Ames Police Cmdr. Jim Robinson.

“We have a mutual aid contract with the ISU Police,” he said. “We would be working to isolate the threat and to ensure the safety of anyone in the area.”

During an active shooter situation, the ISU Web site would be updated continually to “increase safety as much as possible,” Deisinger said.

Although active shooter situations are inherently “dynamic” and can change in a matter of seconds, Deisinger said the police would utilize media outlets along with other sources to provide updates as soon as possible.

“In every crisis situation, there are lot of questions and not a lot of answers,” he said.