The University of St. Thomas in St. Paul abruptly locked down Monday after reports of a man with a firearm on campus, sending students and staff scrambling into shelter-in-place mode. Buildings were closed, doors were locked and people holed up in interior rooms and basements until authorities issued an all-clear about an hour later.
Public safety alert and police response
The university's Department of Public Safety triggered its emergency system with a text warning of a "possible man with firearm" and instructed the campus community to "remain inside your building" while officers swept the area. St. Paul police responded, and witnesses reported seeing officers running across campus with assault rifles as the search unfolded, according to the Pioneer Press.
Students' accounts
Faculty, staff and students reported barricading themselves in classrooms, locking doors, shutting off lights, and moving away from windows into interior spaces or basements as they waited for updates. Several community members shared firsthand accounts on Reddit, where users said the university sent an all-clear roughly an hour after the initial alert, according to Reddit.
Campus emergency procedures
The university's emergency guidance instructs people to lock doors, silence phones and wait for official instructions from Public Safety or law enforcement during a shelter-in-place, according to the University of St. Thomas emergency page. The guidance also notes that Public Safety operates 24/7 and that the USTALERT system delivers urgent texts to the campus community.
All clear and next steps
Roughly an hour after the shelter-in-place order was issued, the university announced an all-clear and campus activity began to resume, while police stayed on site to investigate, the Pioneer Press reported. Officials have not released additional details in the initial reports, and investigators are expected to follow up as needed.
Need to know
If you were on campus or have information that could help investigators, contact University Public Safety at 651-962-5555 or the St. Paul Police Department. For university guidance and emergency contacts, see the Public Safety contact page at University of St. Thomas Public Safety.
