The College of William & Mary received a threat that led to the lockdown on Saturday, October 22. Following the event, an individual was taken into custody. The incident happened shortly before 3 p.m. and the lockdown continued for thirty minutes.
William & Mary immediately informed about the anonymous threat and asked the students and staff inside the campus to go into a secure location. In the follow-up message posted at 2:48 p.m., William & Mary alerted that this was not a test and asked to take shelter in place. Students and faculty at William & Mary immediately went to secure locations within the campus. The information was published on the Twitter account
William & Mary News, which is run by the school’s Office of News and Media. It was later identified that the threat was not from an active shooter. The William & Mary Police Department found the anonymous threat on social media. They asked everyone on campus to continue in the shelter till the threat was located and neutralized.
What Is The Report?
William & Mary reported that there were no reports of injury and police were securing the campus, and assured everyone by asking them to text their loved ones that they were OK.
Police then continued checking campus and the William & Mary community was told that updates will follow as police get more information. By 3:18 p.m. the lockdown was lifted and Williamsburg police took one person into custody. Then an announcement was made that there is no longer a need to shelter in place and the campus was all clear.
Williamsburg police said that the person taken to custody has not been charged with anything. Police are investigating the matter. More details will be released as soon as possible. The individual taken into custody is not named and it is not clear if the person is released. The motive behind the threat is presently unknown.
The police are conducting a detailed study on the possible terror links of the suspect. Deb Cheesebro, chief of university police, and Ginger Ambler, vice president for student affairs, in a message to the community, said that the safety of the campus community was of top priority and expressed their satisfaction in being able to resolve the incident safely and without injury.
They thanked law enforcement partners, especially Williamsburg Police, whose timely action averted a major threat. They appreciated the cooperation of everyone on campus for sheltering in place and allowing police to do their work.
This helped in resolving the matters more easily and everything was brought to order in less possible time. The William & Mary community is confident that they could deal with such threats in the future successfully.
William & Mary reminded students on their official site that counselors are always available, even on weekends, by contacting the Counseling Center at 757-221-3620. Everyone at William & Mary is happy and relieved to have averted this threat. The police department is keen to prevent such events from happening in the future.
Threats like this have to be taken seriously because there is a recent spate of gun-related violence on campuses. Many young people on the campuses have lost their lives due to such attacks.
The police departments must keep heightened vigil in situations like this to make our campuses safer. The student community must feel safe on our campuses. The government must ensure a safe and secure learning environment for students.