The Martin Police Department and UT Martin’s Office of Public Safety continue to investigate a shooting incident on campus Thursday night, Nov. 16.
About 8:30 p.m. Thursday, UT Martin issued a RAVE alert and shelter-in-place warning because of a report of shots fired outside University Village Phase 1 Building B, to which both MPD and Public Safety responded. According to a press release from MPD, officers found several spent shell casings, from a handgun, in the stairwell on the third floor, and officers then cleared the building.
UT Martin issued an all-clear message early Friday, Nov. 17.
Later Friday night, UT Martin Chancellor Yancy Freeman issued the following statement:
“Our Skyhawk family continues to rally following the shooting incident Thursday evening on campus. Thankfully, no one was injured, and no threat exists. Our highest priority was communicating the alleged threat through the RAVE Alert system and assuring safety for everyone on campus. The rapid response of the university’s Department of Public Safety, the Martin Police Department, the Office of Housing and others later resulted in a secured campus and an all-clear RAVE message communicated at 12:20 a.m. when sheltering in place was no longer necessary. Local authorities are still investigating and reviewing surveillance footage to identify the perpetrator(s).
“Following the guidance of police authorities that no threat was imminent, I made the decision to hold classes (on Friday) and operate the main campus on a normal schedule. A message was posted to the homepage this morning and later to information-l and university social media updating the situation. Students were also notified of available counseling services to provide support and assistance to anyone who might be struggling as a result of the incident.
“We continue to field and answer questions and will thoroughly assess how our communications and response could have been better. If you have not done so, I want to make a personal plea to our campus community to sign up for the RAVE alert system. It is UTM’s primary and timely tool for communicating emergency messages to our community during a crisis.
“Please know that the safety and wellbeing of our students, faculty, and staff will always be paramount in how crisis situations are managed. Again, thank you to those who worked tirelessly to ensure the safety of our community first and demonstrated why UT Martin is a special place.”
Anyone with information regarding this incident should contact the UT Martin Office of Public Safety at (731) 881-7777, the Martin Police Department at (731)587-5355, or CrimeStoppers at (731) 587-2611.
