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Police officers respond to report of shotgun in Lewis Library, but no threat found

lewis-interior.jpg

On Sunday, May 20, a student studying in Lewis Library thought she overheard someone mention getting a shotgun and called the Department of Public Safety, which alerted the Princeton Police Department. Officers came to the library and evacuated the building, according to Daniel Day, the University assistant vice president for communications.

After a series of school shootings across the country, students are on high alert for any potential signs of danger.

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“Why did about 15 police officers with shotguns enter lewis library tell everyone to get out saying they were looking for someone,” Linda Song ’19 tweeted at 10:02 a.m. that day. She also expressed concern that no alert went out to the University community and that she was not told what was happening. 

Song did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Princeton Police Department officers located the people matching the student’s description. 

“The juveniles told officers they were ‘shooting’ a video for a project and that no weapons, real or toy, were involved,” Day wrote in an email to The Daily Princetonian.

"We found everything to be in order," said Sergeant Frederick R. Williams, who serves in the PPD's Safe Neighborhood Bureau.

Upon determining that there was no threat, the officers let people back inside the library. Because there was no threat, DPS did not send an alert, according to Day.

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"We meet regularly with public and private school administrators to discuss safety issues related to security," said Williams. "The PPD trains regularly for these types of incidents because they can happen anytime, anywhere."

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