Source: The Washington Post / Getty
An active shooter was reportedly on the campus of Howard University in Washington, D.C., early Tuesday afternoon, Fox DC reported. The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) responded to the reports but was not able to immediately verify the report.
“Shots were fired inside the administration building,” Howard University radiation therapy student Maxwell Telfer told NewsOne. Telfer, a 22-year-old senior from Atlanta, said he sought shelter off-campus after being alerted by the university via email and phone call. The administration building is listed as being located at 2400 Sixth Street in Northwest Washington.
However, Howard University President Wayne A.I. Frederick said the reports were a “false alarm,” according to Washington Post reporter Keith Alexander.
Still, the school’s Twitter feed cautioned students to “stay in place, shelter in place” while police continue to sweep “all buildings.”
Neither Howard police nor the MPD would confirm where or which buildings were affected by the reported shooting.
https://twitter.com/UrbaNMasquE/status/920334026799501313
The university’s Academic Support Building was reportedly evacuated, though there was no confirmation that’s where the reported shooting took place.
Howard confirmed the reports of a shooter on campus through a text message, a student told NewsOne. The text message read:
“HOWARD UNIVERSITY: Please be safe Bison, we have been informed that there may be an active shooter on campus. We’ll give you all updates as we get them.”
The call came at 12:04 p.m. from the Howard University Police Department, who said it was an “active shooter.” However, nothing has been determined yet, a MPD spokesperson told NewsOne.
The report came nearly two weeks after a White man was arrested for making online death threats to Howard students in 2015. At the time, John Edgar Rust, 26, made the threats in two message board posts writing in part, “After all, it’s not murder if they’re Black.”
This story is developing.
‘Active Shooter’ Reported on Howard University Campus was originally published on newsone.com
