Christopher Gonyar oral history interview, 2019 December 10
Description
Christopher Gonyar, Director of Emergency Management at UNC Charlotte, shares his personal account of managing aspects of the emergency response to the April 30th shooting, headquartered in the Police and Facilities Management building on campus. Mr. Gonyar describes his background in disaster and emergency management in the private sector before accepting a position at UNC Charlotte in 2014. He describes in detail the evening of April 30th and morning of May 1st, his correspondence with campus police, and the decisions that were made in real-time, such as notifications in the Niner Alert system and removal of staff and students from buildings on lock down. He speaks to updates that were made to the University's active shooter protocol following April 30th and the increase in active shooter training the University has provided to staff and students. He remembers vividly his entrance into the Kennedy building, noticing the personal affects students left behind. He closes expressing the need to remember students Ellis Reed Parlier and Riley Howell when remembering April 30th.
