“They are good. Everyone is safe.”
That was the word from Jill Gerschutz, vice president of marketing for Credit Union of Ohio. CU Times spoke with Gerschutz less than two hours after the terrifying attack on The Ohio State University campus Monday. Credit Union of Ohio has a branch located on the OSU campus just blocks away from the attack which resulted in a full lockdown of the university.
According to local Columbus, Ohio media and national media reports, nine people were injured when a suspect crashed his vehicle into pedestrians and allegedly slashed students with a butcher knife. Authorities report that the suspect was fatally shot by university police.
Credit Union of Ohio, headquartered in Hilliard, Ohio, has four full-time employees who work at the campus branch, which is across the street from The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center on the south side of campus where some victims were taken for treatment.
Gerschutz could not discuss specifics of their crisis plan, but said, “We are following the (University) Department of Public Safety’s instructions and we are evaluating the branch and we are in constant contact with the branch manager.”
Despite the fact that OSU cancelled all classes at the Columbus campus for the remainder of Monday, Gerschutz said its branch will remain open to its members.
In her 12 years at the Credit Union of Ohio, Gerschutz said, “We’ve never had this kind of situation.”
The credit union posted a statement on its Facebook page stating, “Our thoughts and prayers are with the OSU community today. The CUO campus branch will be open for the remainder of the day.”
