Reports of an active threat create widespread confusion

Editor’s Note: This story will be updated as more information becomes available.

At approximately 2:00 p.m., on Oct. 15, Miami University students received multiple warnings about “active threats” on campus.

The initial message, which was sent through Miami’s Rave Alert safety system did not specify what the threat was or where on campus it was located.

“EMERGENCY: An ACTIVE THREAT has been reported on the OXFORD Campus. RUN/HIDE/FIGHT! Whether you choose to run, hide or fight, be prepared to face a life threatening situation. Updates to follow,” the message read.

At 2:11 p.m. the university issued a follow-up alert that said the situation was in the area of McGuffey Hall.

At 2:25 p.m. an additional alert said gunfire had been reported in the building, but that officers cleared the building and surrounding area, and no issue was found. The alert also said officers would continue to check the area.

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A final alert at 2:37 p.m. confirmed there was no active threat on campus, and students were free to return to their activities.

“Officers have checked the building and all is clear,” the alert said. “The surrounding area has been checked and no issue has been located. Officers will continue to check the area.”

In a separate statement to select faculty obtained by The Miami Student, the Oxford Police Department (OPD) wrote that officers from the Miami University Police Department (MUPD) were dispatched to McGuffey Hall after a caller reported hearing gunfire.

“Officers and other witnesses in the area heard fireworks outside of McGuffey Hall from an unknown off-campus location,” the release said. “Officers did clear the building and found no active threats.”

OPD Lt. Adam Price said officers interviewed people and neighbors in the area and found the descriptions consistent with fireworks or a vehicle backfiring. He also said no one was found hurt or injured, and there was no indication of gunshots.

Despite the number of messages sent out by the university, some students said there was still confusion over what students and professors should’ve done.

Scott Torgerson, a sophomore economics and philosophy major, was acting as an undergraduate assistant in a civics class in Upham Hall when the alerts were sent out. He said he was helping the class when students started murmuring and pointing at the projector where the alert was displayed.

“Most of them were just asking me what was going on, to be honest, and I just answered honestly,” Torgerson said. “I was like, ‘I have no idea.’”

Torgerson and the professor quieted the class, closed the blinds and shut the doors, but the doors on their classroom did not lock. Torgerson called MUPD to try and figure out what was happening. MUPD was able to tell him the incident had been reported in McGuffey Hall.

Because the doors of the classroom didn’t lock, and many of the students lived in Honors dorms on Western campus, further away from McGuffey, the professor allowed students to leave if they felt it was safer. Torgerson told the students to stay away from McGuffey.

“I wish there was more communication, more [clarity] on what happened,” Torgerson said. “Because even now, like after, we don't really know what happened.”

For professors, the situation highlighted student preparedness in emergency situations and pointed out some technological challenges.

Emily Zakin, a professor of philosophy, was teaching a class on the first floor of Bachelor during the time of the event. Zakin, who has a strict no technology rule in her class, was alerted when another professor knocked on the door of the classroom and told them to lock the doors.

After that, Zakin and her class locked the doors and checked their emails to see the alert. Zakin said her students also lowered the blinds, and another faculty member came by roughly 10 minutes later and instructed them to turn off the lights.

“I think the students were more prepared because maybe they’d been through an active threat before, or they knew more about it, so they had the training,” Zakin said. “I think I was more surprised by that.”

Even after the final alert at 2:37, Zakin said she wasn’t exactly sure about the specifics of the event.

“It was alarming, and I think maybe that’s a good thing, but maybe I worry that, on the one hand, if there was an active threat, I think that was the right response,” Zakin said. “But if the trigger is a little bit too loose, then maybe people will get desensitized to the threats or not take them as seriously.”

At 4:13 p.m., a statement from University Communications confirmed a police response and that the sounds heard were "more consistent with fireworks." Anyone with information regarding the incident is encouraged to contact MUPD.

A press release on the OPD Facebook page said the department believes a motorcycle engine backfire is what caused the incident, and at least two callers believed the noises were gunshots. Officers reported that no threats were found after investigation.

martino9@miamioh.edu

mahones5@miamioh.edu