A student from the University of Delaware planned an attack against the campus police, according to ABC News. 

The student, Luqmaan Khan, 25, was arrested after authorities discovered within his vehicle a written intention for the attack, a handgun, and ammunition. In this notebook, Khan reportedly listed the University’s campus police as a target. Subsequent searches of his residence revealed body armor, a scoped rifle, and a modified handgun, which included a machine gun conversation device, also known as a switch. This device, the report notes, was illegal. 

Additionally, the notebook contained combat techniques for various weapons and a sketched layout of the University of Delaware Police Department. 

Fortunately, the attack was prevented. To break down this incident and better understand what insights security leaders can glean from it, I spoke with Danielle Weddepohl, Director of Public Safety and Emergency Management at George Brown Polytechnic. 

How Security Succeeded 

“The biggest successes in this case seem twofold,” says Weddepohl. 

First, efforts from local law enforcement helped to prevent the attack. Weddepohl explains, “Proactive patrolling and engagement by New Castle County police officers meant that they noticed a car in a park after hours which led to a conversation where they determined that the person in the vehicle seemed agitated. Through a deeper inspection, Police then determined that this person was planful, well-equipped and committed to engaging in serious and potentially wide-spread violence.” 

Second, the campus police have proactively engaged in communication with the community. Weddepohl states, “The University of Delaware will also likely be able to successfully lessen fear in their well-prepared and safety-conscious community members. The University of Delaware Police Department has a website full of great safety resources such as their use of ‘Send Word Now,’ which alerts those that are registered about emergencies or situations where ‘imminent danger to the safety and welfare of students, faculty and staff’ could occur over voice messages and text, and their use of a ‘Live Safe’ App and overhead notification system are only a few examples of the work that they’ve done to best prepare their community and to keep safety top of mind. This case should also serve to illustrate the importance of robust safety strategies, notification tools and training to other institutions and their leadership who are considering additions to their own security programming.”

What Are the Key Takeaways for Security Leaders? 

Proactive patrolling was integral to security’s success in this incident, but Weddepohl warns that “in terms of preparation and response, patrolling and engagement will not always uncover threats to institutional safety.” 

“This case underscores the need for security specialists who can perform threat assessments based on reported concerning behaviors, and the need for close collaboration with local police and community partners for information sharing,” she asserts. “Threat Assessment and Behavioral Intervention Teams are now a standard in many post-secondary institutions so that a broad group of diverse specialists can examine threats, determine if threats can be mitigated and administer supports that may be required for both a person who is being assessed and for people who may be impacted by their actions. Although we cannot assume that there will be ‘plan leakage’ to the degree obtained by Police from Khan’s notebook, there can be a great deal of disparate information collected to better paint a picture of indicators of violence, interactions across the institution that may seem unrelated, and a chance to canvas people who may have interacted with the individual but who may have not reported things.” 

Another lesson security leaders can glean from this incident is the value of proper training and collaboration with law enforcement. 

“We need to take time to ensure that our security guarding staff and campus police are not only properly trained and have the equipment that they need, but they are also provided with as much information as possible to improve their situational awareness through our own information collection and through information shared to us by police to keep them safe,” says Weddepohl. “Collaboration with police partners should occur weekly or as often as possible, Police and other first responders should be invited to familiarize themselves with your buildings, and there should be proactive Police relationship building initiated with both your community members and your security team who should feel comfortable establishing their own relationships with local divisions/detachments. Visible police collaboration will also instill confidence in the institution that you support that police are partnering with you and will share information that you need to know to make your team the most effective in keeping your people safe.” 

Proper training doesn’t just help a security team to engage in best practices, but it also supports the team’s mental wellness by providing clear resources and expectations. Earlier this year, Weddepohl and I spoke about how to promote a security team’s wellness, and in that conversation, the value of through training was emphasized — in addition to other useful strategies. 

Foundational steps, such as proactivity and comprehensive security training, can be the difference between a prevented attack or a successful one. This incident at the University of Delaware is evidence of it. 

In regards to the prevented University attack, FBI Baltimore Special Agent in Charge Jimmy Paul states, “I commend the devoted officers with the New Castle County Police Department whose exceptional actions led to Khan’s arrest before anyone was harmed.”