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Writer's pictureNeela Cole

Newman Hall safety threatened, resolved


Neela Cole photo Troy University Police spring into action at dorms.

Troy University Police responded to a 911 call placed from Newman Hall by a student reporting a suspicious individual with a gun on Saturday morning.


Students were urged to immediately shelter-in-place through an alert sent to the campus community at 11:13 a.m. and were kept updated through Omnilert, Troy’s communication system that provides emergency notices, and email system throughout this time.


“We greatly appreciate that one of the residents in the dorm observed something that was suspicious to them and frightened them,” said Chief of Troy Campus Police George Beaudry. “Whenever students see something, that’s the absolute right move to call 911, report the issue and let us do the investigation.”


Rumors continued to spread throughout social media during the time of the active situation.


Beaudry said it’s important to not take information from individuals who are not present at the scene.

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“When you have absolutely no basis on what’s going on and you put that out on social media thinking that you are helping, you are not,” Beaudry said. “Let your information come from us because we will follow up and send out the information that we are able to send out.”


From that morning into the afternoon, a thorough investigation of Newman Hall, as well as the surrounding buildings, was conducted. No evidence of a threat to campus or residents was found by the University Police, including no injuries nor gunshots fired.

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“I was really worried when I saw the alerts,” said Olivia Jones, an RA in Newman  who is a sophomore human resources major from Birmingham, Alabama. “I would usually be out of my dorm during this time, but I was happy that I was in my room.


“I was also worried for my residents. I then just continued to tell them to follow what the alerts said and to stay inside till further notice.”


During the timing of the shelter-in-place, a report came in of a suspicious individual near the Lagoon area. Police then arrested a suspect who was found to have outstanding warrants.


According to campus police, however, the arrested individual is believed to have no connection to the original 911 call.


“We did contact a person of interest to match the description of the original call that came out to determine that that individual was not involved,” Beaudry said. “Other than that, it has been a relatively quiet day on campus.”


All campus lockdowns were lifted at 12:44 p.m. As Troy University Police continue to investigate, it is believed that there is no active threat to campus.


“I was a little scared and stayed in my room to keep safe when my mom told me about what was going on,” said Rebekah Tadem, a freshman nursing major from Enterprise, Alabama.


“I was very relieved when we were out of shelter-in-place and knowing that no one got hurt.


“It’s important for students to stay aware of what’s going on so that everyone can understand the extent of what’s happening and how to be properly safe.”


Troy University appreciates the Troy Police Department and ALEA for their assistance during the active situation.


Students can download the Omnilert app to stay up to date on emergency notifications by visiting https://sos.troy.edu/.

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