D.C. Metropolitan Police are still investigating earlier reports of an active shooter, after no threat was found at Howard University, Tuesday afternoon.
Karimah Bilal of the Public Information Office said the police received a call at 12:04 p.m. of an “active shooter”. Howard’s newspaper, The Hilltop, broke the news at 1 p.m. via Twitter.
“Students and staff have been advised to shelter in place while police investigate,” the paper’s Twitter account said at 1:10 p.m.
Students and staff have been advised to shelter in place while police investigate. pic.twitter.com/eKXsRFHdpc
— The Hilltop (@TheHilltopHU) October 17, 2017
No confirmation of the reports has been made. A dispatcher for Howard’s police department also said the reports had not been confirmed and were “a rumor.”
Howard’s Twitter account has continually updated with new information; as of 2:03 pm, a SWAT team has been sent to the Medical School.
The DCPD have also closed two streets near the university. “Avoid 6th St from Fairmont St to College St; Howard Pl from Georgia Avenue to 4th St,” the DCPD’s Twitter account said at 12:58 pm.
At 2:04 pm, DCPD tweeted that the scene at Howard was cleared and the lockdown’s been lifted. As for the anonymous call made to the department, DC Patrol Chief Lamar Greene said the caller’s identity is under investigation, and that this event was an isolated incident that wasn’t connected to any recent events.
“I want to emphasize my gratitude to [DC] Metropolitan Police and the campus police for what I thought was a very swift response,” Howard president Wayne A.I. Frederick said at a press conference.
With Howard currently celebrating its homecoming festivities, Frederick reassured alumni and students that Howard’s doing everything to make sure the campus is safe.
“Howard’s homecoming is extremely special and important to us, and we want to show everyone we’ll have a safe homecoming,” Frederick said. “We have a very aggressive and comprehensive security plan in place, and the chief of Metropolitan police will make sure that we pull that off.”
The Morgan State Bears are set to take on Howard University Bison Oct. 21 at 1 p.m. in Greene Stadium.
