Classes will resume Friday after unfounded reports of a shooting at the Motley East Residence Hall led to a massive police response and campus evacuation.
The first alert, sent at 3:40 p.m., advised to avoid the area around the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the U.S. Senate due to a “police incident.” Seven minutes later, students and staff received a second alert as first responders raced toward the residence halls. “Police incident in/near Residence Hall East,” the alert said.
Police reported the incident all-clear at 5:11 p.m. via the campus emergency alert system.
“After a thorough investigation by university, Boston, and State Police — along with other emergency services — no evidence of any gunfire was found anywhere on campus or in any adjacent building and, thankfully, there have been no reports of injuries,” Chancellor Marcelo Suárez-Orozco wrote in a statement.
Officers from the UMass Boston Police Department, Boston Police Department, Massachusetts State Police and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives responded to the incident. BPD’s SWAT team arrived on campus in an armored vehicle. Dozens of police SUVs were parked outside the residence halls.
A third alert referred to the incident as a “public safety threat” at 4:01 p.m. “Students in the dorms stay in your rooms, do not answer the doors for anyone unless the it is the police,” the alert said. Police evacuated students from both residence halls shortly after.
Personnel from the Boston Fire Department and Boston EMS also staged outside the residence halls in tactical gear.
At 4:14 p.m., a fourth alert declared a “police incident in/near Campus Center.” Students and staff in Campus Center were evacuated at approximately 4:30 p.m.
“Law enforcement will continue to investigate this incident. Anyone with relevant information is asked to report it to Police,” Massachusetts State Police wrote in a statement.
“If you have information that could be helpful, please contact UMass Boston Police at 617-287-7780,” Suárez-Orozco wrote.