This is my daughter's school but she is enrolled in an internship for her intended major, so she's in Cincinnati right now. Oh thank God! But I do know we have a member at S2K who stated he was going to Western and would be a freshman this Fall.....forgive me right now, I do not recall who this was right now. I do hope you're safe and sound. MSNBC is covering the breaking news story. (FYI, Pearce Ford Tower, knowns as PFT, is the tallest dorm on campus, I believe it has 27 floors).
Shots were heard, no injuries have been reported:
http://media.www.wkuherald.com/media/st ... 9604.shtml
http://www.bgdailynews.com/articles/200 ... eaking.txt
Western Kentucky University: shots heard, school on lockdown
Moderator: S2k Moderators
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Miss Mary
Latest update from the school's website/mainpage:
http://www.wku.edu/
Police are investigating.
The South Campus building on Nashville Road was evacuated earlier following reports that one or more persons were observed in the building with weapons. WKU Police, Bowling Green Police and State Police have conducted an extensive search of the building and the premises. At this time, the police have been unable to find any witnesses or evidence to support earlier reports that weapons were present.
Following this, WKU PD received an unconfirmed report of shots fired in the vicinity of Pearce Ford Tower on the WKU main campus.
Police have confirmed that there was a physical altercation not involving weapons between individuals that occurred in or near PFT, but the police are interviewing witnesses on the scene to determine if weapons were or are present, or if shots were fired.
At this time, the campus emergency warning system has been activated. Students and employees have been advised to remain indoors, in secure areas, until an "all clear" is issued.
We will provide additional information as it becomes available.
http://www.wku.edu/
Police are investigating.
The South Campus building on Nashville Road was evacuated earlier following reports that one or more persons were observed in the building with weapons. WKU Police, Bowling Green Police and State Police have conducted an extensive search of the building and the premises. At this time, the police have been unable to find any witnesses or evidence to support earlier reports that weapons were present.
Following this, WKU PD received an unconfirmed report of shots fired in the vicinity of Pearce Ford Tower on the WKU main campus.
Police have confirmed that there was a physical altercation not involving weapons between individuals that occurred in or near PFT, but the police are interviewing witnesses on the scene to determine if weapons were or are present, or if shots were fired.
At this time, the campus emergency warning system has been activated. Students and employees have been advised to remain indoors, in secure areas, until an "all clear" is issued.
We will provide additional information as it becomes available.
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CajunMama
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Re: Western Kentucky University: shots heard, school on lockdown
WKU's campus is no longer under a lockdown.
I'm familiar with the school because they're in the sunbelt conference. Mary, I'm glad your daughter wasn't on campus. Thank goodness for internships. What's she doing her intership in?
I'm familiar with the school because they're in the sunbelt conference. Mary, I'm glad your daughter wasn't on campus. Thank goodness for internships. What's she doing her intership in?
UPDATE: All Clear Has Been Issued By WKU Police
Individuals are free to move about campus as needed. WKU officials say four individuals have been taken into custody for questioning. A news conference is scheduled for 4 pm CT at Mass Media and Technology Hall.
Satellite coordinates are:
AMC 16 Transponder 14
Downlink frequency 11980.0000 horizontal
Full analog transponder
85 degrees West
Test: 3:45 pm CT
News Conference: 4 pm CT
All main campus and BG Community College classes on South Campus have been canceled for the remainder of the day and this evening.
The South Campus building on Nashville Road was evacuated earlier following reports that one or more persons were observed in the building with weapons. WKU Police, Bowling Green Police and State Police have conducted an extensive search of the building and the premises.
Following this, WKU PD received an unconfirmed report of shots fired in the vicinity of Pearce Ford Tower on the WKU main campus.
Police have confirmed that there was a physical altercation not involving weapons between individuals that occurred in or near PFT, but the police are interviewing witnesses on the scene to determine if weapons were or are present, or if shots were fired.
More information will be released at the news conference.
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Miss Mary
Cajun Mama - thank you. Yes, thank goodness indeed she wasn't on campus. But she's been messaging with friends about the incident. Her major is Journalism (print) and her internship is at our city's magazine, Cincinnati Magazine. Unpaid but the experience (fact checker) was well worth the one semester off. Also, I haven't had her home with us this much since August of '05 so selfishly, I've been enjoying having her home! It will all end in January though. She'll probably never live at home this much again.....sniff, sniff. Naw, I'm okay with it. She's on track with her goals in life and that is what is important here!
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Miss Mary
Re: Western Kentucky University: shots heard, school on lockdown
Here's the latest, from the school newspaper, where my daughter has worked in the past:
http://media.www.wkuherald.com/media/st ... 1993.shtml
Fight and frenzy
RECALL: Misinformation leads to panic on campus
Corey Paul
Issue date: 10/23/08 Section: News
Media Credit: Bryan Anselm
There's a fight at South Campus. Police get a call that shots are fired. A fight erupts at Pearce-Ford Tower about 30 minutes later. Then another report of gunfire.
What does Western do?
In a post-Virginia Tech society, it opts to err on the side of extreme caution.
Officials issue stark warnings through the Emergency Management System. Text messages, intercom broadcasts and e-mails. Besides a storm or two, this is the first time the EMS alerts students.
News of a shooting breaks nationally. Students make and receive thousands of phone calls to relieve worries of loved ones. It floods cell phone networks, and many lose service.
Rumors fly: PFT is on lockdown while police search for an armed suspect inside. Someone's shot. No, wait, someone broke his arm, breaking up a fight.
So what really happened?
Much less than you heard: Western officials later say there are no confirmed shots or weapons on campus.
The guy who broke his arm stopping a fight? False. Someone suffered minor injuries in the fight. Howard Bailey, vice president of student affairs, later shakes his hand.
But students are convinced otherwise for hours Wednesday, as panic and policemen blanket the campus.
"They're shooting now," a student on South Lawn says urgently into her cell phone. "They were fighting first."
She's too afraid to give her name. But this woman, who friends call (Ree-see), heard the same warnings issued to everyone else.
At 12:30 p.m., 42 minutes after shots are reported: "Armed men have been reported on WKU South Campus. Please stay clear of the area." At 12:48: "Shots fired near PFT seek shelter immediately."
Western didn't confirm any of that before warning students.
But (Ree-see) doesn't know. She can't get into her dorm. It's on lockdown, so she stays with friends on the grass.
About 20 yards away, Bowling Green police officer Jamie Peerce makes a discovery.
One of the suspects, he says into his radio, is approaching the Downing University Center. The man is wearing a light blue toboggan and a black jacket with white trim.
Moments later, three policemen approach the Guthrie Bell Tower with a pistol and two AR-15 assault rifles.
"Get on the ground," they shout at four students, including the blue-hatted man. They point their guns and the students comply.
Then (Ree-see) says something to the officers. The mob of about 20 onlookers can't hear it, but it makes one officer visibly angry.
"You want to be a part of it?" the policeman says. He aims a rifle at her head.
"Get on the ground," he says.
She doesn't. So he pushes her down, smacking her head against stone.
"Get the f--- off me," she screams. "Get the f--- off me."
The policemen move the students to the Preston Center for questioning. (Ree-see) is the only one in cuffs.
After about 30 minutes, police put the blue-hatted man in the back of a Bowling Green Police cruiser. He was one of five students detained, but not arrested. (Ree-see) is released. She declines another interview.
The three students with whom the detainee chatted by the clock-tower are also released.
Nashville freshmen Corin Jones and Augustus Quaye are two of them. Both say they were complaining about the lockdown and chatting about the PFT melee before police approached them. They witnessed the fight but say they weren't involved and don't know what it was about.
Quaye says he went at PFT to meet Jones for lunch.
Both say they play intramural flag football with the blue-hatted man. They say his name is "(An-twahn)," but can't spell it and don't know his last name or hometown.
"He doesn't play very much," Jones says.
Police maintain a barricade around PFT while officers search rooms. Outside, students and officers relay rumors of a gunman.
It's one of many that appears to have fallen flat.
At 3:02, Western issues a final text message: "This is an all clear message. All main campus and BGCC classes have been canceled for the remainder of the day."
At 4:00, Western officials gather in Mass Media and Technology Hall to address the swath of newspeople that the warnings drew.
Bailey says the South Campus fight had carried over from a brawl at a Saturday night dance hosted by Black Men of Western, a mentoring group. The fights at South Campus and PFT are connected. None of the students were from the mentoring group.
Bailey admits the threats were probably invalid.
And pressmen press.
"What you did is put out rumors effectively," one reporter says.
"What we did was make the right decision on behalf of the safety of the college and community."
Bailey thanks the local, state and federal agencies that responded. After the press conference, two students tell officials they saw a gun and heard shots. The investigation is ongoing.
Bailey says Western will assess its response to the calls.
Did Western cry wolf? How might its officials respond next time? How might its students?
Was the potential for violence worth all this cost, and all this panic?
Reach Corey Paul at news@chherald.com.
http://media.www.wkuherald.com/media/st ... 1993.shtml
Fight and frenzy
RECALL: Misinformation leads to panic on campus
Corey Paul
Issue date: 10/23/08 Section: News
Media Credit: Bryan Anselm
There's a fight at South Campus. Police get a call that shots are fired. A fight erupts at Pearce-Ford Tower about 30 minutes later. Then another report of gunfire.
What does Western do?
In a post-Virginia Tech society, it opts to err on the side of extreme caution.
Officials issue stark warnings through the Emergency Management System. Text messages, intercom broadcasts and e-mails. Besides a storm or two, this is the first time the EMS alerts students.
News of a shooting breaks nationally. Students make and receive thousands of phone calls to relieve worries of loved ones. It floods cell phone networks, and many lose service.
Rumors fly: PFT is on lockdown while police search for an armed suspect inside. Someone's shot. No, wait, someone broke his arm, breaking up a fight.
So what really happened?
Much less than you heard: Western officials later say there are no confirmed shots or weapons on campus.
The guy who broke his arm stopping a fight? False. Someone suffered minor injuries in the fight. Howard Bailey, vice president of student affairs, later shakes his hand.
But students are convinced otherwise for hours Wednesday, as panic and policemen blanket the campus.
"They're shooting now," a student on South Lawn says urgently into her cell phone. "They were fighting first."
She's too afraid to give her name. But this woman, who friends call (Ree-see), heard the same warnings issued to everyone else.
At 12:30 p.m., 42 minutes after shots are reported: "Armed men have been reported on WKU South Campus. Please stay clear of the area." At 12:48: "Shots fired near PFT seek shelter immediately."
Western didn't confirm any of that before warning students.
But (Ree-see) doesn't know. She can't get into her dorm. It's on lockdown, so she stays with friends on the grass.
About 20 yards away, Bowling Green police officer Jamie Peerce makes a discovery.
One of the suspects, he says into his radio, is approaching the Downing University Center. The man is wearing a light blue toboggan and a black jacket with white trim.
Moments later, three policemen approach the Guthrie Bell Tower with a pistol and two AR-15 assault rifles.
"Get on the ground," they shout at four students, including the blue-hatted man. They point their guns and the students comply.
Then (Ree-see) says something to the officers. The mob of about 20 onlookers can't hear it, but it makes one officer visibly angry.
"You want to be a part of it?" the policeman says. He aims a rifle at her head.
"Get on the ground," he says.
She doesn't. So he pushes her down, smacking her head against stone.
"Get the f--- off me," she screams. "Get the f--- off me."
The policemen move the students to the Preston Center for questioning. (Ree-see) is the only one in cuffs.
After about 30 minutes, police put the blue-hatted man in the back of a Bowling Green Police cruiser. He was one of five students detained, but not arrested. (Ree-see) is released. She declines another interview.
The three students with whom the detainee chatted by the clock-tower are also released.
Nashville freshmen Corin Jones and Augustus Quaye are two of them. Both say they were complaining about the lockdown and chatting about the PFT melee before police approached them. They witnessed the fight but say they weren't involved and don't know what it was about.
Quaye says he went at PFT to meet Jones for lunch.
Both say they play intramural flag football with the blue-hatted man. They say his name is "(An-twahn)," but can't spell it and don't know his last name or hometown.
"He doesn't play very much," Jones says.
Police maintain a barricade around PFT while officers search rooms. Outside, students and officers relay rumors of a gunman.
It's one of many that appears to have fallen flat.
At 3:02, Western issues a final text message: "This is an all clear message. All main campus and BGCC classes have been canceled for the remainder of the day."
At 4:00, Western officials gather in Mass Media and Technology Hall to address the swath of newspeople that the warnings drew.
Bailey says the South Campus fight had carried over from a brawl at a Saturday night dance hosted by Black Men of Western, a mentoring group. The fights at South Campus and PFT are connected. None of the students were from the mentoring group.
Bailey admits the threats were probably invalid.
And pressmen press.
"What you did is put out rumors effectively," one reporter says.
"What we did was make the right decision on behalf of the safety of the college and community."
Bailey thanks the local, state and federal agencies that responded. After the press conference, two students tell officials they saw a gun and heard shots. The investigation is ongoing.
Bailey says Western will assess its response to the calls.
Did Western cry wolf? How might its officials respond next time? How might its students?
Was the potential for violence worth all this cost, and all this panic?
Reach Corey Paul at news@chherald.com.
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x-y-no
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Huh ...
Well given the history of school shootings and the fact that there were reports of shots fired, I don't see that school officials and police had any choice but to treat the threat as real.
As for the way "Ree-see" was treated - there's something called common sense, and when you're in what everyone reasonably understands to be a dangerous emergency situation it doesn't make a whole lot of sense to raise the cops' level of anxiety by giving them a hard time. The police are human too and one ought to have some empathy for the stress they're under in a situation like this. Be calm and cooperative and save any arguments for later.
Well given the history of school shootings and the fact that there were reports of shots fired, I don't see that school officials and police had any choice but to treat the threat as real.
As for the way "Ree-see" was treated - there's something called common sense, and when you're in what everyone reasonably understands to be a dangerous emergency situation it doesn't make a whole lot of sense to raise the cops' level of anxiety by giving them a hard time. The police are human too and one ought to have some empathy for the stress they're under in a situation like this. Be calm and cooperative and save any arguments for later.
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