Twitter flooded with reports of people saying there was an “active shooter” on the University of Cincinnati campus on the evening of November 29, 2018. The campus police wrote on Twitter, “Police emergency involving a person with a gun near Campus Rec Center. Stay inside and away from the area.”
Here’s that tweet:
Police emergency involving a person with a gun near Campus Rec Center. Stay inside and away from the area.
The university’s official account then retweeted that report and wrote, “UPDATE: Shots were fired tonight on the UC campus during a fight near the Campus Rec Center. All those involved are believed to be gone from the scene. No reported injuries.” The shelter in place was lifted.
This brief announcement just played on UC’s campus saying no one’s been shot.
One local journalist’s report also indicated that it’s not an active shooter in the sense that most people interpret that phrase; rather, there were shots fired near the rec center after a fistfight, she also reported. Students were furious that they learned about the shooting on Twitter first.
Sarah Walsh, a journalist with WCPO-TV, wrote on Twitter, “Students at the University of Cincinnati are sheltering in place following shots fired on campus near the recreation center. Police say this was the result of a fistfight that escalated into gunfire. Three shell casings found on the ground.”
Per CPD Not active shooting, no victims. Suspect who fired shots fled.
“Students at the UC are sheltering in place following shots fired on campus near the rec center. Police say this was the result of a fistfight that escalated into gunfire. Three shell casings found ground.”
Walsh added: “If a person was injured in the shooting, they have not yet been found. A number of UC students are messaging us to say they knew about the shooting via text messages, Snapchat and other social media for around 20 minutes before campus authorities informed them. Many spent those minutes scared and confused.” There was an unverified Snapchat video flying around also. Some local media were sharing it on Twitter. You can see it here.
A shelter warning was in place, according to The News Record, the UC student newspaper.
The News Record said that UC students, staff and faculty received this “active shooter alert” via email: “Police Emergency INVOLVING A PERSON WITH A GUN NEAR CAMPUS REC CENTER. Occupants lock your room. Others stay out of area.”
Students at the University of Cincinnati are sheltering in place following shots fired on campus near the recreation center. Police say this was the result of a fistfight that escalated into gunfire. Three shell casings found on the ground.
The campus police report about a person with a gun was the first confirmation from authorities that something was going on many minutes after Twitter first flooded with the unconfirmed reports about a possible active shooter. Some students criticized the university for not informing them sooner about what was going on. Students reported that their friends were hiding.
there’s an active shooter on campus right now, please please pray for everything being affected
Some students said they were told to stay in their dorms, however, with one woman writing, “Reports of an active shooter on the University of Cincinnati’s campus. The university has instructed students to stay in their dorms.”
Twitter began filling with frantic reports of an active shooter or shooting near Center Court in the late evening hours. WCPO-TV wrote, “We’re sending a team to the University of Cincinnati right now to learn more about reports of an incident and large police presence on campus.”
Here’s what you need to know:
Twitter Filled With Frightened Reports of a Possible Shooting
People took to Twitter to frantically report there was an active shooter. Be aware that early reporting in such chaotic situations sometimes ends up being wrong. “I should not have to be worried about active shooters. I should not have to text everyone I care about to make sure they are okay and safe,” wrote one woman on Twitter.
Here are some of the tweets on the UC situation:
UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI STUDENTS & FACULTY
There is an ACTIVE SHOOTER on campus !! Check your emails!
@uofcincy
11:07 – Message from my RA about possible active shooter
11:27 – Message over campus emergency system
11:37 – Tweet from @UCPublicSafety
12:05 – No emails in my student or employee account, No texts
Response time?? I got 4 emails & texts about the power outage…
why do we get like 5 public safety emails right away when the power goes out at uc but when there’s an active shooter they wait 30 min to send a single (1) email
@uofcincy if you could inform us when there’s an ACTIVE SHOOTER on campus that would be great
@uofcincy can u pls tell us when there’s an active shooter/shooting on campus thnx
Can someone pls tell me why it took 25 min to finally go into lockdown at the library due to an active shooter that was right next door to the library?? Love that my friend texted me telling me not to leave before @uofcincy took care of anything!
There is an active shooter at UC right now, CINCY FRIENDS PLEASE STAY SAFE!!!!!! GO HOME!!!!!!!!
#ACTIVESHOOTER #SCHOOLSHOOTER STAY INSIDE IF YOU ARE ON UC CAMPUS
This article is being updated as more information becomes known.
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