University of Wisconsin-Whitewater officials said Wednesday that there was no threat to life or safety after earlier sending an “Active Threat to Life Safety” alert to all students on the first day of the fall semester.
“Per our safety protocols, we initiated our emergency communication system until police gave the all-clear,” UW-Whitewater Chancellor Corey A. King and Chief of Police Matthew Kiederlen said in a joint statement. “It was reported to UW-Whitewater Police that an individual walked into Andersen Hall with what people believed was a weapon and was yelling. The individual left the office without incident.”
Shortly after 11:00 am, the school sent an emergency alert to all students indicating a threat to life and safety.
“This is not a drill,” officials warned. “University Police asks the Whitewater campus community to remain sheltered in place until told otherwise.”
In a second update a few minutes later, the school warned that “there is an active threat to life safety on the Whitewater campus, RUN, HIDE, FIGHT!”
Alarms sounded across campus for about a half hour as multiple law enforcement cleared multiple campus buildings before determining that there was no threat.
“There is no threat to life safety,” the school texted at 11:37 am. “Police have confirmed there was no threat to life safety earlier today when the alert system was activated. We will share more information as soon as we are able.”
Shortly after 1:00 pm, King and Kiederlen provided limited details on the incident and reiterated that the university remains open for all classes and extracurricular activities.es.
“We are grateful for all who responded to today’s incident and worked to ensure the safety of everyone on the Whitewater campus,” they said. “While we are relieved there was no active threat, we understand how deeply upsetting these situations can be for our university community, especially on the first day of classes.”
