'All Clear' Issued After Police Investigate Alleged Gunman Incident
By Rachel Young After receiving a call at 1:25 p.m., University Police and Suffolk County Police responded to reports of an alleged armed perpetrator. A little over two hours later, an "All Clear" text message was sent to members of the Stony Brook community. "Police have searched the area and there is no longer any immediate danger. All clear," the message read. The suspect has not been found. At a 4 p.m. press conference at Police Headquarters in Dutchess Hall, President Shirley Strum Kenny said a plain-clothes security guard at the Student Activities Center approached the suspect after an apparent theft. "At that point, the perpetrator showed what appeared to be a gun," Kenny said. Assistant Chief of Police Douglas Little said that at that point, the security guard, who he described as a "greeter" who works for the Faculty Student Association, "backed off and called police." It is unclear if the same guard ran after the suspect. Mariann Woolley, a senior who witnessed the incident at about 1:30 p.m., said she and a friend saw the suspect being chased by a security guard. The suspect is reported to be a black male about 25 years of age wearing a black trench coat, black knit hat and a goatee. Little said he has a tattoo between the thumb and index finger of his right hand. "I saw him running - he went out with a pizza box in his hand. I didn't think he was, like, a gunman," she said. "We made the joke, 'Wow, he's running for pizza?'" Woolley said the perpetrator ran between Harriman Hall and Old Chemistry toward the Sports Complex. "I'm really scared, 'cause there's a whole lot of this stuff going on," she said. Across campus, some students echoed her response, while others reported feeling confused, angry, and worried. Cesar Acosta, a senior, said, "No one really knows what's going on. It's just word of mouth." A female senior who didn't want to be identified called WUSB 90.1 FM shortly after 4 p.m. She said she was sitting on a bench at the Student Activities Center just before the incident when someone matching the suspect's description sat down next to her and asked her for a dollar. A woman who approached reporters said, "I have a midterm tonight, but frankly, I feel safer off campus." Another student, who spoke to a police officer near the library, said that if it was a choice between possibly coming into contact with a gunman or not going to class, he chose the latter. "I didn't sign up for the text messaging service so I really have to go to the source," he said. "The cop [I spoke to] said it was a campus wide issue, but it's really a country wide issue." Although the incident occurred around 1:30 p.m., students reported not receiving an initial text message from SB Alert until at least half an hour later. "Remain alert, and follow directions of emergency personnel. Go to the Stony Brook Web site for updates," the text said. Some students said they didn't receive the message until around 2:20 p.m. No official campus lock down was issued. Noah Pirozzi, a freshman, said, "I'm pissed because you need some sort of lock down device. They said this was one of the safest campuses when I applied." Some students were wary. "It's always in the news - you gotta get used to it. I'm not gonna hide in my room all day long," said Kyle Schillingford, a freshman who was on his way to the bookstore. "This campus is one of the unhappiest campuses, so I'm not that surprised," said Tapan Buch, a freshman. He was referring to Stony Brook's number one rank on the Princeton Review as having the 'Least Happy Students.'" Near the Student Activities Center, students crowded around police officers, reporters and camera-people. Inquiries of "What's going on?" were heard throughout the Academic Mall. Even off-campus media seemed confused. "I get here and nothing's locked down," said Lee Lutz, executive editor of The Village Times Herald. One of the key questions raised at the press conference by reporters was why a campus lock down was not issued. Kenny said a full lock down is a false concept. "You cannot, on a campus, have an open lock down," she said. She said the school has been working on their emergency system "time and again." Stony Brook University has a 1,100 acre campus with about 40,000 people. "Over 11,000 instant messages were sent out," she said. The campus has less crime now compared to last year, she said. The Student Activities Center remained open, and as of 2:15 p.m., entrance and exit from Harriman Hall was possible. People reported a lock down in parts of Administration. Lock downs were also reported in Humanities, Engineering, and the Wang Center. Around campus, University Police told students to go about their business but proceed with caution. "If you see something, immediately say something," said Patrick Bazemore, a University Police officer. "I am really confident that we do everything we can to keep students safe," Kenny said. Little said University Police will review what happened and hopes police will be able to get more information from video footage. "We have surveilliance equipment in the SAC," he said. Kenny said that if she was the parent of a student here, her nervousness would depend on what her child told her about the incident. "If I had watched News 12's coverage, I would have been much more nervous," she said. "My brother in Waco, Texas saw it on Fox News." Little said students should be aware of their surroundings. "If my son or daughter went here, I would tell them to challenge police to get as much information as possible," he said. "We're still looking for our bad guy out there." |
