PORTLAND: The campus of a liberal arts college in Maine was put under lockdown early Saturday morning after a shot was fired at a student housing complex during what one student called a big party annual. Colby College said no student was injured in an altercation involving the discharging of a firearm at the Alfond Senior Apartments on the campus in Waterville, Maine.
No Colby students were injured and the suspect was not affiliated with the college, while police continued to search for others involved, the school said in a statement.
Police did not perceive any imminent danger to the campus community, but asked students to stay overnight out of an abundance of caution, the college said.
Normal operations were to resume in the morning and counseling services would be available for individual and group support on campus, where staff provided support to students overnight, the school said.
An email sent to the student body by Acting Dean of College Barbara Moore at 2:21 a.m., which was shared by a student, said the Waterville Police Department “having a person in custody who witnessed events there and fired a gun.”
“We urge you to shelter in place until we have additional information that the campus is completely safe,” wrote Moore, who did not immediately respond to an email from The Associated Press.
The Waterville Police Department did not immediately respond to a message from the AP requesting additional information.
Landon Kisselan 18-year-old freshman from Manhasset, New York, said he drove off campus ‘just to play 100% safe’ about five minutes after he received a message about the incident at 1:49 a.m. in the morning.
“We have an open campus, so there is no security to prevent anyone from entering or leaving campus, so I was able to just drive out,” Kissell told the AP in a direct message on social media, adding that he stayed in touch with his friends on campus.
“At first it was more of a confused state where no one understood what was going on. Different rumors were immediately circulating about what was really going on,” he said.
“It was certainly difficult to find a safe place, but since everyone was already inside due to the temperature, most people stayed where they were or went to the next building and went locked up there,” Kissell said.
The Alfond apartments, where the shot was fired, was the site of what Kissell described as “a massive party night” that takes place around 24 hours a year on St. Patrick’s Day. The holiday is March 17, but the holiday, known as ‘dog head’, was brought forward a week this year because the holiday falls during Colby’s spring break, it said. he declares.
Kissell first learned of the lockdown from his dorm resident assistant, who texted students at the Sturtevent residence.
“Everyone was freaking out at first, especially because no one expected to have to lock down in little Waterville, Maine,” Kissell said. “But since an official email was sent by the school, things are looking up.”
Kissell did not initially see Moore’s email or another from a student government leader who told students to stay put.
“I have never seen these emails until now, because who would think to check their emails in a panic situation, right?” Kissell said at 3:25 a.m. from his car in the state capital of Augusta, about 20 miles south of the Colby campus. He planned to spend the rest of the night with friends at Bates College in Lewiston, 54 km south of Augusta.
Colby, founded in 1813, is the 12th oldest liberal arts college in the United States, according to the school’s website.
No Colby students were injured and the suspect was not affiliated with the college, while police continued to search for others involved, the school said in a statement.
Police did not perceive any imminent danger to the campus community, but asked students to stay overnight out of an abundance of caution, the college said.
Normal operations were to resume in the morning and counseling services would be available for individual and group support on campus, where staff provided support to students overnight, the school said.
An email sent to the student body by Acting Dean of College Barbara Moore at 2:21 a.m., which was shared by a student, said the Waterville Police Department “having a person in custody who witnessed events there and fired a gun.”
“We urge you to shelter in place until we have additional information that the campus is completely safe,” wrote Moore, who did not immediately respond to an email from The Associated Press.
The Waterville Police Department did not immediately respond to a message from the AP requesting additional information.
Landon Kisselan 18-year-old freshman from Manhasset, New York, said he drove off campus ‘just to play 100% safe’ about five minutes after he received a message about the incident at 1:49 a.m. in the morning.
“We have an open campus, so there is no security to prevent anyone from entering or leaving campus, so I was able to just drive out,” Kissell told the AP in a direct message on social media, adding that he stayed in touch with his friends on campus.
“At first it was more of a confused state where no one understood what was going on. Different rumors were immediately circulating about what was really going on,” he said.
“It was certainly difficult to find a safe place, but since everyone was already inside due to the temperature, most people stayed where they were or went to the next building and went locked up there,” Kissell said.
The Alfond apartments, where the shot was fired, was the site of what Kissell described as “a massive party night” that takes place around 24 hours a year on St. Patrick’s Day. The holiday is March 17, but the holiday, known as ‘dog head’, was brought forward a week this year because the holiday falls during Colby’s spring break, it said. he declares.
Kissell first learned of the lockdown from his dorm resident assistant, who texted students at the Sturtevent residence.
“Everyone was freaking out at first, especially because no one expected to have to lock down in little Waterville, Maine,” Kissell said. “But since an official email was sent by the school, things are looking up.”
Kissell did not initially see Moore’s email or another from a student government leader who told students to stay put.
“I have never seen these emails until now, because who would think to check their emails in a panic situation, right?” Kissell said at 3:25 a.m. from his car in the state capital of Augusta, about 20 miles south of the Colby campus. He planned to spend the rest of the night with friends at Bates College in Lewiston, 54 km south of Augusta.
Colby, founded in 1813, is the 12th oldest liberal arts college in the United States, according to the school’s website.
