Friday night at Ohio Christian University in Circleville turned tense in a hurry when a campus security officer reported coming face-to-face with an armed individual who then ran off into nearby woods. Students, faculty and staff were ordered to shelter in place while law enforcement moved in to secure the area. University officials said no injuries were reported, and the lockdown remained in effect into the evening.
According to 10TV, the Circleville Police Department and the Pickaway County Sheriff’s Office responded after the university activated emergency lockdown and shelter-in-place procedures near the softball field. In a post on the university’s Facebook page, officials said a campus security officer reported that a person displayed a firearm before fleeing toward a wooded area next to campus property. R.D. Saunders told 10TV that the safety of students and employees remains the university's highest priority.
Search and response
Officers set up a perimeter around the area and began searching the woods, calling in K-9 units and an aerial resource to help comb the terrain, according to Scioto Post. Buildings stayed locked, and people were kept inside under lockdown rules while investigators worked the scene. As of the latest updates in local coverage, officials had not announced any arrests.
Campus context
Ohio Christian University reports an enrollment of about 2,000 students on its website, Ohio Christian University. The campus sits roughly 30 miles south of Columbus and within about a mile of Circleville’s elementary, middle, and high schools, details noted in local reporting by 10TV.
Past incidents
It is not the first time OCU has dealt with a serious on-campus scare. In September 2022, a man crashed a vehicle into a campus building and fired shots, prompting a multi-agency response and another lockdown, as reported by WOSU. That incident ended with the suspect taken into custody and underscored the campus’s reliance on rapid notification and shelter-in-place procedures.
No immediate arrests or charges were announced in Friday’s case, and investigators described the situation as ongoing, according to Scioto Post. University and law enforcement officials have not released further details.
