Sarah Smyre oral history interview, 2020 January 21
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Captain Sarah Smyre (Lieutenant Smyre at the time) shares her experience on the evening of April 30th, 2019, as one of the UNC first police officers to arrive on campus after reports of an active shooter in the Kennedy building. Originally assigned to the Waka Flaka Flame concert, a show scheduled to take place at the football stadium on campus that evening, Smyre left her post and proceeded toward the Kennedy building, noting the lack of students and pedestrians on campus. She, along with Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) officers, cleared the third floor of the Kennedy building before learning that the shooting had occurred in room 236. She discusses coordinating the remaining officers as Sergeant Rich Gundacker secured room 236. Student victim Drew Pescaro was taken to the emergency room in Smyre's police car after officers decided his medical needs were urgent and they could not wait for EMS personnel to arrive. Captain Smyre recalls the heroism and willingness displayed by police officers from campus and CMPD in getting to the scene quickly and acting selflessly in their attempt to provide support. She ends by discussing the importance of establishing the Remembrance Committee and also how the event affected her friends, family, other alumni and the University's police.
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