March 6, 2008 issue
Peacock Responds to Hoax in Letter To Students and Faculty
Editor’s Note: On Tuesday, March 4, a letter penned by ASU Chancellor Ken Peacock was posted to the university website that gives a timeline of the events that led to the university lockdown on Monday evening. The letter also explains subsequent action taken by ASU and Boone Police departments as the hoax unfolded.
Although the incident yesterday, March 3, 2008, has been determined by Boone Police to be a fabrication, the events served to vividly remind us how vigilant we must be in protecting the safety of our students, faculty and staff and how important our campus wide safety procedures are when we believe we are in a threatening situation. As you now know, a student reported an armed intruder in his apartment near campus yesterday afternoon and a search for this suspect ensued, triggering a campus alert.
I thought it important for you to know the sequence of events and how the university and law enforcement agencies responded to those events. The focus of the Administration at all times was on the safety of our students, faculty, staff and campus guests.
-The Boone Police Department was called at 3:42 p.m. by an Appalachian student who reported an armed intruder in his apartment close to campus. The suspect was reported to be running toward a campus parking lot near Whitener Drive, behind John Thomas Hall.
-At 3:47 p.m., both Boone Police and ASU police responded. Later, the Watauga County Sheriff’s Office joined the effort.
-At 4:11 p.m., sufficient information had been gathered to trigger a campus alert via email and the Appalachian website, informing the campus of the incident and giving a description of the suspect.
-Given the suspect's proximity to the Holmes Convocation Center, John Thomas Hall and Lucy Brock Child Development Center, those facilities were "locked down" immediately.
-A second campus alert was issued at 4:28 p.m. with a more detailed description of the suspect.
-When, sightings matching the description of the suspect were reported on campus, an alert was issued at 5:10 p.m. calling for a lockdown of the buildings on campus and instructing students and employees still on campus to remain in their locations until further notice. All residence halls activated lockdown procedures at that time.
-At 5:24 p.m., evening classes were cancelled.
-During this time, law enforcement agencies conducted a search of the campus and area to follow up on the report of sightings but the suspect was not found.
-After police exhausted all leads, the university administration cancelled the university wide lockdown at 6:32 p.m. and people were asked to leave the buildings on campus and return home.
-In addition, police officers visited each residence hall that evening to offer any assistance needed, police officers escorted food service employees off campus when their shifts ended and also provided safe rides for students on campus throughout the night.
We will continue to review and revise our emergency response plan in accordance with Appalachian's Safety Task Force and the UNC Safety Task Force commissioned by UNC President Erskine Bowles. Appalachian's plan includes a registration system for the APPSTATE-ALERT text messaging and voice response system, and the planned purchase of a campus siren system to warn of emergencies
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