CSULB – California State University Long Beach – posted an emergency alert about a possible threat, asking students to shelter in place. However, the university police have now given the “all clear.” They say a suspect is in custody. Some students wrote that the doors wouldn’t lock.
However, the story then took a very strange twist. First, police arrested a female student. Then, they announced that they had arrested a male student – Prateek Devulpally, 18. They accuse him of sending a message threatening to shoot up the school. “She’s cooperating, it turns out she was a victim,” University police Capt. John Brockie said, according to The Press Telegram. Authorities accuse Devulpally of hacking into the female student’s email to send the threat.
“CSULB BeachALERT! The situation is ALL CLEAR. Shelter-in-place orders have been lifted. University Police currently have the sole suspect in custody. There is no ongoing threat, and the campus is open for normal operations. #CSULB,” police wrote on Twitter around 4:24 p.m. on the west coast. Police did not share additional details about the suspect or nature of the threat.
The university’s alert page posted a very similar message: “CSULB’s shelter-in-place order has been lifted. The suspect is in custody. There is no current threat. The campus will resume normal operations.”
CSULB BeachALERT! The situation is ALL CLEAR. Shelter-in-place orders have been lifted. University Police currently have the sole suspect in custody. There is no ongoing threat, and the campus is open for normal operations. #CSULB
The university had previously written that the investigation was continuing.
On October 7, 2019 at 4:17 p.m., the university wrote, “UPDATE: CSULB’s shelter-in-place continues. Police are actively working to resolve the threat. If not on campus, please stay away.” You can click here to go directly to the alert page. The campus was on lockdown.
The university did not share additional details, sending people into a panic on social media. The campus police department shared the above message to its Twitter page. Alejandro Vazquez, Design Editor at Daily Forty-Niner, wrote on Twitter, “Currently, my J495 class is under lockdown due to the credible threat. Stay safe everyone. More information to follow.”
A woman wrote on Twitter, “Hi @CSULB as a student who just spent an entire class hour terrified in a lecture hall with 3 exits, none of which lock, I think I speak for everyone on campus when I say an infrastructure update is needed. False alarm or not, this was emotionally taxing and terrifying. Thanks.” Another person wrote on Twitter, “#csulb is in a serious lockdown right now and I’m receiving messages from my friends on campus who’re saying they can’t even lock the doors in their classrooms. @CSULB @CSULBPolice This needs to change.”
Here’s what you need to know:
The University Wrote That the Threat Was ‘Credible’
The CSULB Police Department revealed that officials are considering the threat to be “credible.” Police wrote on Twitter, before they gave the all clear: “CSULB BeachALERT! The campus has received a credible threat. Everyone on campus is to move indoors and shelter in place immediately. If not on campus, stay away until further notice.”
The Long Beach Post reported that the shelter-in-place alert was made, according to Cal State Long Beach spokesman Gregory Woods, out of an “abundance of caution.” Police have not released any further details about the nature of the threat.
This post is being updated as more information is learned about the threat.