Howard University safe after multiple shooter scares
After a frenetic Tuesday that saw Washington, D.C.’s Howard University receive not one, but two reports of an active shooter, D.C. police gave an all-clear at around 2:05 pm. Alonzo Joy, the university’s interim police chief, reassured D.C residents and Howard students at a press conference:
“We have found no evidence, no witnesses, nothing that supports that there was a shooting on our campus in any location.”
The alleged genesis of these threats was a Howard student’s ex-boyfriend who was rumored to have been rejected from the university’s medical program and additionally was barred from the campus two weeks prior to the reported active shooter threat. He had allegedly threatened his ex-girlfriend, telling her not to go to campus and that if she showed up on campus those who saw her would be hurt. He also warned her against going to the police and knew that she had an exam Tuesday. She filed a temporary restraining order against him, which is where his threats to her person were recorded.
Police did investigate him but did not keep him in custody. There is increased danger of an active shooter during Howard’s homecoming, which brings thousands of people to D.C., both graduates, and celebrities. As a result, the police took the reported threats seriously, sending more than 100 officers armed with semi-automatic rifles. The campus was locked down for two hours and classes were also canceled for the remainder of the day.