The Brief
The University of South Carolina issued an emergency alert Sunday about a possible active shooter near the Thomas Cooper Library, prompting students to shelter in place.
Officials later said there was no evidence of an active shooter but urged students to remain sheltered while police searched campus buildings.
The incident followed other recent false active shooter reports at Villanova University and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.
The University of South Carolina issued an all clear Sunday evening after police found no evidence of an active shooter on its Columbia campus.
The school sent an emergency alert shortly after 6:45 p.m. warning of a possible shooter near the Thomas Cooper Library and ordering students to shelter in place, evacuate the immediate area and barricade themselves if necessary.
University spokesman Jeff Stensland said the alert was sent "out of an abundance of caution" after an unconfirmed report. Police searched the library floor by floor before declaring the building safe.
"There was no evidence of an active shooter," Stensland said, adding that two people sustained minor injuries during the evacuation.
Dig deeper
The initial warning included a description of a possible suspect and told students to defend themselves if they encountered anyone matching it. A second alert later clarified there was no evidence of a shooter but asked students to remain sheltered until police completed their search.
By early evening, the university lifted the shelter order and gave the all clear.
The reports at USC came just days after false active shooter calls sparked lockdowns at Villanova University in Pennsylvania and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.
At Villanova, a 911 caller reported a shooter inside a law school building with at least one victim, a claim later described by officials as a hoax. In Chattanooga, the university issued an alert warning of a possible shooter in a campus building, telling students to "Run. Hide. Fight." No threat was found after police cleared the scene.
The backstory
The University of South Carolina has about 38,000 students and sits in downtown Columbia, a city of nearly 145,000 people.
The Source
This report is based on information from the Associated Press and the University of South Carolina’s Carolina Alert system.
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