Scramble to sign up for text alerts

A 22-year-old St. John’s freshman, charged with bringing a loaded rifle to school, faces a year behind bars.
On Friday, September 28, Omesh Hiraman of East Elmhurst was arraigned by video conference from his bedside in Bellevue Hospital for criminal possession of a weapon and violations of the state’s Administrative Code regarding gun purchase and possession.
Hiraman will next face the court on Tuesday, October 9. He is being held without bail until after he undergoes an examination of his mental awareness.
Just two days earlier, Hiraman wrapped the single-shot .50-caliber Wolf rifle in a black plastic garbage bag, which he carried with him on campus, police said.
At the time - about 2:30 p.m. - Hiraman wore a black hoodie and sported a plastic George Bush mask, arousing the suspicion of fellow student and police cadet Christopher Benson and St. John’s Public Safety officer Dan Boylan.
Benson spotted the butt of the gun protruding from the bag, he told members of the media, and the pair wrestled the weapon from the 125-pound Hiraman in front of Marillac Hall and pinned him against the wall until Public Safety and New York Police Department (NYPD) officers arrived.
Afterward police locked down the campus for nearly three hours to search for a possible second or third suspect, but by 5:30 p.m., they opened the gates and allowed trapped students and staff to leave.
At a press conference on the college campus that evening, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly praised the quick-thinking actions of his prospective employee and the university’s security officer, a retired police lieutenant.
“We are all indebted to one very observant and very brave police cadet,” Kelly said in published reports.
And the day after the incident, St. John’s officials breathed a sigh of relief. To observe the peaceful resolution, the college community celebrated the Feast of St. Vincent de Paul at the campus chapel.
“God has preserved us. God has kept us safe,” St. John’s President Rev. Donald J. Harrington said during the celebratory Mass. “And we thank and praise God for that very, very special blessing.”
On Thursday, October 4, St. John’s plans to present both Benson and Boylan with the President’s Medal, a university spokesperson said.
“Their selfless concern for our safety is truly worthy of both commendation and commemoration,” said Harrington in a statement on Tuesday, October 2.
University officials also touted the success of a recently implemented cell phone emergency “Text Messaging” service, which alerted students of the initial situation and updates. In total, students, faculty and staff who had signed up for the service received four texts, one of which read, “Male was found on campus with rifle. Please stay in your buildings until further notice. He is in custody.”
“The whole text-message thing worked great,” said 21-year-old Shady Abdel-Fattah of Floral Park. “Within five or 10 minutes, they told everyone to get in their buildings.”
The morning of the incident, there were 2,100 students and staff signed up for the service, and as of 10 a.m. on Tuesday, October 2, 8,916 had enlisted.
“I signed up the day of [the incident],” said 18-year-old St. John’s sophomore Maria Charitou of Queens Village. “I went home and was like click.”
The university’s Office of Student Life has taken over the drive to enlist students, approaching students with laptops in hand and staffing four kiosks on campus where those interested can enlist. About a month ago, the college also sent out an e-mail encouraging subscribers.
Abdul Q, a 19-year-old student originally from Afghanistan, said that the college staffers had cajoled him into signing up days before the incident.
Still several students seemed clueless about the service on Monday, October 1.
“How do I sign up? What is it?” asked 19-year-old sophomore Nemo Mohmend. After he was told what about the service, he said he would consider joining.