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Threat of shooting on WIU campus
Press conference scheduled for 10:30 a.m.
Posted: Wednesday, March 26, 2008 at 10:04 a.m.
MACOMB, ILL. -- WIU PRESS RELEASE
The Office of Public Safety (OPS) at Western Illinois University and Macomb Police are investigating a threat regarding a shooting on campus that was received at an off-campus apartment complex sometime overnight between Tuesday and Wednesday.
According to the Office of Public Safety Director Bob Fitzgerald, an employee of an apartment complex near campus reported receiving a handwritten note in the complex's payment drop-box that indicated there would be a shooting on the WIU campus Wednesday.
Residence halls are locked and accessible only by residents with keys. Students who wish to remain in their residence halls and apartments will not be penalized for missing classes on Wednesday, March 26. Faculty and staff who wish to be absent should contact their supervisors.
"While this is an anonymous off-campus threat, it is imperative that we take all necessary precautions to ensure the safety of our students, staff and faculty," noted WIU President Al Goldfarb.
Police patrol, including assistance from the Illinois State Police, Macomb Police Department and the McDonough County Sheriff's Office, has been increased and is highly present on the WIU-Macomb campus, Fitzgerald said. Any unusual or suspicious activity should be reported immediately to the Office of Public Safety by calling 9-1-1 from any campus phone or 298-1949. There are also 51 emergency callboxes located throughout campus.
Goldfarb added the University is working with Macomb Police in an effort to find the person or persons responsible for the threat.
"We are investigating this incident, and we will prosecute the individual responsible to the fullest extent of the law," Goldfarb said.
A timely warning alert has been issued using Western's Emergency Alert System.
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KHQA has confirmed that due to the high volume of phone calls because of the threat, there is difficulty with campus phone service.
KHQA also has spoken to several students who say they did receive a text message about the threat through WIU's emergency alert system; we've heard from several others who say they did not receive the message.
KHQA's Alexis Hunt has spoken with officials at WIU.
They told her text messages about the campus shooting threat were sent out in a couple of different batches because the university's system can handle only so many messages at a time.
We've heard from some students who say they never did receive a text message from the school's emergency alert system; Alexis was told that those students might not have entered their personal information accurately into the university's database. But university officials told Alexis they believe the system worked smoothly, considering this was the first time it was used.
Students tell KHQA that classrooms were evacuated Wednesday morning after the threat was received.
Police presence is high on campus. One student confirmed that she encountered four Illinois State Police officers as she left her classroom building Wednesday morning.
Stay tuned to KHQA for the latest developments.
I just saw this on a crawl on the CBS affilliate...
My wife is in classes...well maybe she was then, and is now at work.
Press conference scheduled for 10:30 a.m.
Posted: Wednesday, March 26, 2008 at 10:04 a.m.
MACOMB, ILL. -- WIU PRESS RELEASE
The Office of Public Safety (OPS) at Western Illinois University and Macomb Police are investigating a threat regarding a shooting on campus that was received at an off-campus apartment complex sometime overnight between Tuesday and Wednesday.
According to the Office of Public Safety Director Bob Fitzgerald, an employee of an apartment complex near campus reported receiving a handwritten note in the complex's payment drop-box that indicated there would be a shooting on the WIU campus Wednesday.
Residence halls are locked and accessible only by residents with keys. Students who wish to remain in their residence halls and apartments will not be penalized for missing classes on Wednesday, March 26. Faculty and staff who wish to be absent should contact their supervisors.
"While this is an anonymous off-campus threat, it is imperative that we take all necessary precautions to ensure the safety of our students, staff and faculty," noted WIU President Al Goldfarb.
Police patrol, including assistance from the Illinois State Police, Macomb Police Department and the McDonough County Sheriff's Office, has been increased and is highly present on the WIU-Macomb campus, Fitzgerald said. Any unusual or suspicious activity should be reported immediately to the Office of Public Safety by calling 9-1-1 from any campus phone or 298-1949. There are also 51 emergency callboxes located throughout campus.
Goldfarb added the University is working with Macomb Police in an effort to find the person or persons responsible for the threat.
"We are investigating this incident, and we will prosecute the individual responsible to the fullest extent of the law," Goldfarb said.
A timely warning alert has been issued using Western's Emergency Alert System.
-------------------------------
KHQA has confirmed that due to the high volume of phone calls because of the threat, there is difficulty with campus phone service.
KHQA also has spoken to several students who say they did receive a text message about the threat through WIU's emergency alert system; we've heard from several others who say they did not receive the message.
KHQA's Alexis Hunt has spoken with officials at WIU.
They told her text messages about the campus shooting threat were sent out in a couple of different batches because the university's system can handle only so many messages at a time.
We've heard from some students who say they never did receive a text message from the school's emergency alert system; Alexis was told that those students might not have entered their personal information accurately into the university's database. But university officials told Alexis they believe the system worked smoothly, considering this was the first time it was used.
Students tell KHQA that classrooms were evacuated Wednesday morning after the threat was received.
Police presence is high on campus. One student confirmed that she encountered four Illinois State Police officers as she left her classroom building Wednesday morning.
Stay tuned to KHQA for the latest developments.
I just saw this on a crawl on the CBS affilliate...
My wife is in classes...well maybe she was then, and is now at work.
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