The events marked the second and third gun scares on campus in five months. The first occurred early on the morning of March 7, when officials alerted the University community to a suspected gunman near Spelman Halls. Steven Shonts ’12 — who had been running with a vintage, disabled weapon — turned himself in to authorities.
While officials waited more than 80 minutes during the March incident before alerting those on campus to the presence of a suspected gunman, administrators sent campus safety alerts within minutes of receiving the first calls in the June and July incidents.
The July incident occured just after 8 a.m., when a University employee saw what appeared to be a male with a possible weapon walking near McCosh Hall and Washington Road, University spokeswoman Cass Cliatt ’96 said in an e-mail.
The employee “reported to a supervisor (who had access to a phone) what he had seen, and that it might be a toy,” Cliatt said, adding that the supervisor then contacted Public Safety and relayed what the employee had seen.
Officials sent out a safety alert to members of the campus community through the Princeton Telephone and E-mail Notification System (PTENS) at around 8:08 a.m. A message was also posted on the University homepage at 8:24 a.m.
“Public Safety felt it was prudent to err on the side of caution upon receiving the initial report,” Cliatt said. “The employee ... could not immediately be reached, but when the employee was located, he gave a very detailed description of the item he had seen. He said the item had a fluorescent tip and was bluish in color, which confirmed that it was a toy.”
Officials then announced an “all clear” on the homepage at 8:34 a.m. and through messages to the University community just before 9 a.m.
Cliatt said at the time that, while authorities were looking for the male who was carrying the toy water gun, “Given the open nature of our campus for casual visitors and pedestrians — we recognize the possibility that we won’t locate him.”
The June incident
On june 2 at 10:36 a.m., a University staff member called Public Safety and reported that she had seen a young man carrying a gun at the Graduate Student Government collection drive held in the courtyard of Dod Hall, Cliatt said. The University issued an alert through PTENS just after 10:50 a.m.
“The toy gun actually did have a very prominent orange tip, but it was tucked into his waistband and not visible to the staff member,” Cliatt explained.
The young man with the gun left the area with a friend, and the two were joined by two more male juveniles as they walked toward University Place, Cliatt added.
After the alert went out, Public Safety received a second call from a different employee when she saw the young men walking toward the Wawa store.
That information was relayed to Borough Police, who took the four juveniles into custody near the Wawa and retrieved the toy gun that had been discarded in a nearby trash can. During questioning, the teen said he found the toy gun at the collection point outside Dod.
There were no reports of threatening behavior or injuries. An “all clear” announcement was sent out at 11:25 a.m.
The males did not face charges in connection with carrying the toy weapon, The Princeton Packet reported on June 3. They were, however, be charged with underage alcohol possession and marijuana possession after both substances were found on them during questioning.
During the lockdown, law enforcement officers surrounded Witherspoon, Little and Dod halls and stopped individuals from entering that area of campus.
Students reported seeing as many as three news helicopters hovering above campus during the lockdown, and reports of the incident appeared on CNN, Fox News, CBS News and NBC News as well as in the Associated Press.
Although many members of the Class of 2009 were still on campus moving out, following Commencement exercises the previous day, they did not receive alerts from the University’s emergency notification system, Cliatt confirmed, because their names had already been removed from the database.
“Our system, after Commencement, removes departing seniors from the system,” Cliatt said. “No one could have expected that the day after graduation we would have an incident.”
Several members of the Class of 2009 expressed frustration and disappointment that their names had been removed from the emergency notification system before they had actually left campus.
“I talked to a couple friends, and they were surprised and a little upset about the whole situation,” Emma Giunipero ’09 said. “If it had been a real incident, then we could have gotten hurt.”
Jonathan Keller ’09 said he learned of the gun threat when a Public Safety officer “told [him] to go back in [his] room and not come out.”
“It was very frustrating to not know what was going on and not have accurate information with getting any of the alerts,” he said. “All my roommates didn’t know, so I had to tell them. None of the seniors I knew knew.”
Kyle Smith ’09 also learned of the gun scare when he tried to leave Little Hall.
“There were Public Safety officers coming out here just shouting at people to go up campus, not really saying what’s going on,” said Smith, who later found out what was happening from a junior who had received a PTENS alert via text message.
Smith called the decision to take seniors out of the database “definitely irresponsible.”
“I think it’s definitely a problem,” he added. “I don’t know what’s going to happen, [what] the repercussions for that [will be.]”
Cliatt said that the University took steps in June to address the problem. “We are actually working right now to make sure seniors remain in the system at least a week after Commencement,” she explained.
Cliatt added that, though seniors were not in the emergency notification system, information about the incident was posted on the University’s homepage.
She also noted that members of the incoming Class of 2013 did receive alerts from the notification system.
Read More
Lawsuits filed against University after cybersecurity incidents
Shaun KaraniMultiple lawsuits have been filed against Princeton in the wake of a widespread cybersecurity breach.
Multiple lawsuits have been filed against Princeton in the wake of a widespread cybersecurity breach.
Israeli consulate visits Princeton to discuss experience of Jewish students, follows Tsurkov release
Luke GrippoFor the first time since the 2024 “Gaza Solidarity Encampment” at Princeton, Yuval Donio Gideon, head of the Public Policy Department of the Consulate General of Israel in New York, met with University administrators and campus rabbis to discuss the experience of Israeli and Jewish students on campus.
For the first time since the 2024 “Gaza Solidarity Encampment” at Princeton, Yuval Donio Gideon, head of the Public Policy Department of the Consulate General of Israel in New York, met with University administrators and campus rabbis to discuss the experience of Israeli and Jewish students on campus.
Trump administration announces new travel, visa restrictions in last days of semester
Luke GrippoNew travel restrictions announced by the Trump administration could impact international students returning to campus after break.
New travel restrictions announced by the Trump administration could impact international students returning to campus after break.