UNC Chapel Hill Is On Lockdown Because Of Gunman

On Wednesday morning, police are investigating reports of an armed and dangerous person at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The school was placed on lockdown at around 9 a.m. after an armed individual was reported near the ROTC Building and Venable Hall on campus. The university has activated its sirens, which indicates a health or safety threat on campus, and has asked students to go inside immediately, shut windows and doors, and remain inside until further notice. Update: According to its website, the university has issued the message "All clear. Resume normal activities." to signal that the threat has ended.

A statement on UNC's website read:

The sirens are activated when there is a significant emergency or immediate health or safety threat to the campus community. When the sirens sound, stop classroom and campus activities; all UNC operations are temporarily suspended. Remain inside your classroom or a safe place in your building unless police or University personnel instruct you to take a specific action, such as to evacuate a building, stay out of a certain part of campus, or go to your residence hall and stay there.

The school has also instructed students to notify their families that they're OK but keep their cell phones open by using the American Red Cross Safe and Well list for communication. According to the university's Alert Carolina emergency website, students are encouraged to call 911 if they see anything suspicious but are asked not to call to ask for updates on the incident, as police lines need to remain open.

The website also announced that when the threat is over, the campus will receive an "all clear" message on the loudspeakers and in a text message to their phones. So far, law enforcement officials have not issued any information on the suspect or what their motives are. The incident follows a deadly shooting earlier this year in Chapel Hill that tragically killed three people, including a UNC Chapel Hill student. On February 10, Deah Shaddy Barakat, who was a second-year student at UNC Chapel Hill's School of Dentistry, his wife Yusor Mohammad Abu-Salha, and her sister Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha were shot and killed by their neighbor Craig Stephen Hicks, who was indicted on three counts of first-degree murder.