As a college student, this writer can attest to how scary it is to hear about shootings on college campuses and face the reality that such threats could become a reality at nearly any point. Those fears also surfaced for students, faculty, and staff at the University of Cincinnati when reports of a person with a gun were called in on Short Vine, a street near the campus. The campus police sent out an alert, telling people to stay out of the area, and began a search for the mysterious gunman.

The campus police began their search for the gunman, but never issued an official lockdown, though they did encourage students to stay where they were and to avoid the reported area. The police searched the buildings and area around where the gunman had been sighted, and found nothing, so they issued an “all clear” alert, telling students it was safe to move about. The police reported that the suspect, described as a fifteen-year-old black male, ran into a neighborhood across the street shortly after being spotted.

Though no campus-wide lockdown was issued, certain buildings were locked down as the search was conducted. The police focused on Proctor Hall, a building that was not technically on campus, and surrounding areas to ensure that there was no threat after the gunman fled. The campus police officially reported that no gunman had been found, no shots had been fired, and no injuries or deaths had occurred in the process.

There has been no statement issued concerning whether or not the suspect will be pursued or kept on lookout for. The story ends on a happy note, however, that there were no injuries or deaths as a result of the scare, and everyone present was able to walk away from the scare with nothing more than a frightening story to recount to their friends, family, and loved ones back home.

[Image courtesy of University of Cincinnati’s Facebook page.]