October 24, 2008
Bowling
Green, Ky. - Five students who were detained for questioning following two fights at Western Kentucky University on Wednesday have been released.
The WKU students denied involvement in the fights and no weapons were found in their possession, according to WKU Police. The fights, along with reports of weapons being fired, prompted the university to activate its emergency notification system and place the main campus and South Campus into a secure mode.
“I want to say how pleased I am with our emergency notification system,” WKU President Gary Ransdell said at a Thursday morning news conference. “It worked well. It was effective. No one beyond those involved in a fight was in danger, and the campus was secured until we were certain the matter was fully in hand and issued the all clear.”
Dr. Ransdell said reports to 911 indicated that individuals saw a fight and one heard a gun shot on the main campus and that prompted officials to immediately notify the campus of a dangerous situation. He added that police have been unable to substantiate that guns were present or that shots were fired.
“The report, however, of shots fired raised concerns of an ongoing threat, and that the altercation had escalated,” Dr. Ransdell said. “This was sufficient information to activate our campus alert system and ensure safety for our students, faculty and staff.”
Dr. Ransdell said he communicated with parents via email this morning (text to follow).
“I must state that uncontrolled aggressive behavior in this world of catastrophic events has consequences which often go beyond the individuals involved,” he said. “The personal action of a few can, and did in this case, disrupt two of our campuses and bring national focus on us that caused a lot of people to be concerned.”
Dr. Ransdell praised responders from the campus, Bowling Green Police, Kentucky State Police and others for their “expedient and exceedingly helpful assistance.”
EMAIL TO PARENTS FROM WKU PRESIDENT GARY RANSDELL
Dear Parents of WKU Students:
As I am sure you are now aware, WKU officials initiated our Emergency Notification System yesterday to notify students, faculty, and staff that a dangerous situation existed on our campus between 11:25 a.m. and 3:07 p.m. We advised all individuals on campus to remain inside while law enforcement authorities brought the situation under control.
What we now know is that a fight occurred between a small group of students on our South Campus, which houses our Community College and is located on Nashville Road about a mile from the main campus. When police were called, the same individuals involved in that fight went to an area on the main campus near their residence hall and, once again, began to fight with one another. Reports to 911 indicated that individuals saw a fight and one heard a gun shot on the main campus and that prompted us to immediately notify the campus of a dangerous situation. Despite this, police have been unable to substantiate that guns were present or that shots were fired.
A number of students who observed the fight have been questioned. Five individuals were taken into custody yesterday afternoon, questioned, and released. Police continue to investigate. Once the individuals involved in this altercation are found, they will be subject to the campus judiciary process.
The good news is that our campus emergency notification system worked well. Following reports of the first incident, everyone across the campus was notified by text message to stay clear of the South Campus area. The South Campus was quickly secured by law enforcement authorities. Following the 911 call to report a second incident, police were on the scene immediately. The emergency notification system, which includes emergency text messages, emails, an outdoor voice warning system and postings on the WKU website, was then used to advise all on the campus to remain indoors until police issued an “all clear,” which they did at 3:07 p.m.
Our staff in Student Affairs, Public Affairs, and Information Technology communicated effectively and thoughtfully but with sufficient patience to ensure valid information. I am proud of the manner in which we responded and ensured a secure environment until actual information could be validated. As a parent, you should know that we will always err on the side of caution in such matters.
The message I am conveying to all of our students, and it is a message that has become commonplace in our society, is that aggressive behavior has consequences which often go beyond the individual parties involved. Steps will be taken to ensure safety for the uninvolved when individuals use physical action and threaten one another. We must assume that any such situation could escalate, and we cannot allow that to occur.
We also live in times where it is difficult to control exaggerated information. We will always take steps to communicate and then sort through what is fact and what is not fact in each situation.
We are working directly with our Campus Police and the Bowling Green City Police to increase patrol across campus and throughout our community. I want you to know that if we ever do find a weapon on a person on our campus, we will expel that student or dismiss that employee. So far we have no reason to believe that such a circumstance exists, but we will be diligent in maintaining a safe and secure campus environment.
Thank you for the opportunity to communicate with you. WKU values the safety of every single member of the WKU family, especially your sons and daughters who make up our student body.
Thank you.
Dr. Gary A. Ransdell
President, Western Kentucky University
More WKU news is available at www.wku.edu and at http://wkunews.wordpress.com/. If you’d like to receive WKU news via e-mail, send a message to WKUNews@wku.edu.
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