Indiana Campus Lockdown Ends After ‘All Clear’ Issued
An Indiana campus lockdown has ended after the “all clear” was given on Tuesday afternoon, four hours after the situation began.
The lockdown, issued for Indiana University-Purdue University’s (IUPUI) campus in Indianapolis, began around 1 pm when a man carrying what was thought to be a “long gun” was spotted in a campus parking lot.
Police immediately asked everyone on campus to seek shelter and locked all of the school’s buildings down. A female student first spotted the man near the nursing building and ducked behind a car.
IUPUI police officer Bill Abston added that the man was seen near a green vehicle, though it is not clear if the alleged gunman was in a car or not. Despite this, Abston urged, “People need to take precautions.”
Along with IUPUI police, Indianapolis Metropolitan Police officers and Wishard special deputies searched the Indiana campus for the man. He was described as a six-foot-tall white man with a long brown coat.
Along with IUPUI buildings, IU Health University Hospital and Riley Hospital for Children at Indiana University Health were also put on lockdown. All afternoon activities and media events at both hospitals were also canceled.
The lockdown at the Indiana campus ended when the school released the all clear on its emergency management Twitter feed. The school added that normal operations will resume, including scheduled evening classes.
Sarah Blanchard, an IUPUI dental student who was at the university when the lockdown began, said she felt safe because police and staff looked into the situation. Blanchard added:
“I was a little apprehensive because it is not unusual for tragic and violent crimes to happen on campuses. I felt confident within minutes of receiving the IUPUI alert administrators were taking steps to secure the building.”
The Indiana campus lockdown came just one day after a former student at the University of Central Florida allegedly committed suicide after a mass shooting was averted by campus police.
[Image By Daderot [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons]
