Reports of a gunman on campus were “confirmed” near Old Campus, where freshmen dorms are housed, by a text update from the University around 11 a.m. Announcements have been broadcast in dorm rooms and sightings of police and the SWAT team have been reported outside Old Campus. New Haven Police Department Lieutenant Jeff Hoffman confirms no shootings, no injuries.
Rob O’Gara ’16, said that police are concentrated on Elm Street between Saybrook, Berkeley and Old Campus. O’Gara said that, for the past 20 minutes, police have been yelling at each other to “get cover” and at someone else — likely the gunman — to pull back. The standoff has continued since, and officers seen near Saybrook are reported to be carrying rifles.
Many students have left campus for Thanksgiving break, but those interviewed from campus said that they have not noticed anything unusual other than the alert messages.
Maria Bouffard, director of emergency management, confirmed that NHPD and YPD officers have been brought to the scene. Bouffard said that updates will continue to be posted on the University’s official emergency services website as they are received.
At 10:20 a.m., the Yale emergency alert system sent out phone calls and text messages to students notifying them of reports of a man with a gun on campus. The messages indicated that an anonymous tip to the NHPD had been made from a phone booth on Columbus Avenue. The messages told students to remain in place. The University’s PA system, which is used to announce other emergency situations like fires, has not been used.
Cops were not seen around Pierson or Calhoun colleges as of 10:37 a.m. A 10:50 a.m. text update to students stated the shelter was still in place. At 11:55 a.m. a text update confirmed that the shelter in place and lock-down remain in effect. 12:16 p.m. Traffic was being diverted by New Haven police, and ambulances were are on the scene as a precaution. It is not clear whether anyone is inside. According to NBC Connecticut, the following streets are closed:
High Street between Elm and Chapel streets
Chapel Street between High and College streets College Street between Chapel and Elm streets Elm Street between College and High streets
1:25 p.m. New Haven Police Department spokesman David Hartman said the call lasted only a few seconds, and was from a payphone at 9:30 a.m. this morning. Hartman described the call as “a statement,” that the caller’s roommate was headed to campus with a gun. The caller was male and did not identify himself as a Yale student. Hartman said that no suspect has been detained, and that reports from witnesses interviewed have been contradictory. According to NBC, SWAT teams are conducting searches to clear buildings on Old Campus. Gateway Community College is on a precautionary lockdown, as are several New Haven Public Schools.