OUR VIEW: Students may physically feel safe in College Park, but administrators and officials need to pay attention to students’ mental health.

It’s been an unusually violent summer, both in College Park and across the country. Last month, a man allegedly high on PCP got into a gunfight with police officers before crashing a police cruiser into a wall outside of the McDonald’s on Route 1. Last week, two men were arrested after shots were reported near the campus. And the gun violence has been a nationwide trend.

This summer saw one of the worst mass shootings in U.S. history when a gunman in Aurora, Colo., opened fire in a movie theater, leaving many dead and wounded. Then, less than a week ago, seven, including the gunman, were killed in a shooting at a Wisconsin Sikh temple.

The incidents have naturally reminded people of some of the nation’s worst mass-shooting tragedies in recent years, including those at Columbine High School and Virginia Tech, which don’t even begin to cover failed attempts or less-publicized incidents. Even though there has been ample opportunity to draft guides to better prepare for such events – especially those on school campuses – there doesn’t seem to be a clear cut way for schools to respond.

This editorial board is left evaluating how our university and county police respond to these sorts of incidents – and how safe we would feel if a more serious incident were to happen during the year. All of the campus incidents have a similar theme: Police quickly responded to the situation, but delayed informing students. When 21-year-old Andre McKoy was shooting at police officers last month, a student’s video of the incident reached Facebook well before students received any sort of crime alert. With last week’s shooting, a crime alert went out about an hour and a half after the incident occurred.

There’s something to be gleaned from many of these shootings about how this university and this city can be better prepared, and how they can more effectively communicate to students and residents when there is imminent danger. We’ve highlighted several incidents to see what police, university and city officials can learn to ensure this campus and surrounding area is safe.

SHOOTING AT COLUMBINE HIGH SCHOOL, 1999: Twelve students and one teacher were murdered, and 21 were injured before the two shooters killed themselves. Shortly after the incident, the Secret Service compiled a report that said schools placed too much hope in physical security, and instead, officials should focus on students’ behavior.

SHOOTING AT VIRGINIA TECH, 2007: The shooting left 33 people dead. The university informed students two hours after the first shooting, giving the gunman plenty of time to reload and go on a second shooting spree. After the university grappled with a lawsuit, in which it was found guilty of negligence for waiting to inform the campus of the incident, it instituted a new, high-tech alert system. When there was another shooting in 2011, two died, but the campus was quickly put on lockdown – the university clearly learned from its past.

AURORA, COLO., SHOOTING, 2012: James Holmes, the alleged gunman, killed 12 and injured 58 others; he is currently awaiting trial. He reportedly opened fire on a midnight premiere of The Dark Knight Rises. Holmes’ mental state has been called into question since he received psychiatric treatment. His psychiatrist reportedly warned others he was potentially dangerous, according to ABC News, but authorities didn’t take the proper action.

According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, universities have seen an increase in students seeking services for anxiety disorders. While it’s never feasible to predict who’s capable of what, universities should make a concerted effort to increase literacy about mental health disorders and more actively advertise their services so students can get help before it’s too late.

Fortunately, University Police have, for the most part, made this a physically safe environment. But the real issue is paying attention to students’ needs and improving communication amongst the university community. There have been major improvements in post-tragedy responses, but now it’s time to adequately prepare so these tragedies never happen in the first place.