EMERGENCY ALERT – FINAL NOTICE
At this time, law enforcement has positively identified and located the suspect at an off-campus location who was involved in an early morning shooting incident on Florida Atlantic University’s Boca Raton campus.
The university will immediately lift lockdown, though the FAU Boca Raton campus will remain closed throughout the rest of today. The university will open for regular operations tomorrow, Thursday, May 1.
ABOUT THE INCIDENT:
Due to an incident during the early morning hours of Wednesday in which an individual discharged a firearm on the Boca Raton campus, the Boca Raton campus was closed and placed on lockdown. No one was seriously hurt during the incident, though a non-student received minor injuries.
At 1:16 a.m. Florida Atlantic University’s police department received notice about a possible shooting on the Boca Raton campus. Upon receiving the call, FAU police immediately began to investigate the situation and determined that shots had been fired at the student apartments.
At 1:42 a.m. FAU police activated the newly installed siren and PA system, alerting the campus community that there was an armed suspect on campus and that all campus residents and visitors should seek shelter immediately. Messages were posted on the homepage, throughout the website and a university wide e-mail was sent out asking those on campus to seek shelter and those off campus to remain off campus. The new reverse 911 system was also utilized. In addition, notices were posted in the residence halls regarding the situation.
At 5:00 a.m. the second notice regarding the incident was released using mass e-mail, the University’s homepage and its intranet system (MyFAU). The campus remained in a lockdown state as FAU and Boca Raton police searched for the then-unidentified male suspect thought to be responsible for discharging a firearm on campus.
At 12:30 p.m. University officials were informed that law enforcement had positively identified and located the suspect at an off-campus location. The lockdown was subsequently lifted.
The health, safety and welfare of the University community is a top priority. This incident allowed for first-time use of new emergency communications systems, and while University officials are generally pleased with the performance of these systems, a full debriefing will be conducted to promote even greater effectiveness during future use.
FOR STUDENTS:
1) All final exams scheduled for Wednesday, April 30, 2008 on the Boca Raton campus are re-scheduled for Saturday, May 3, 2008 at the same time and location as originally scheduled. Exams and events on all other FAU campuses will proceed as scheduled.
Those students who are planning to participate in commencement should continue to participate as planned although, as always, degrees will not be certified until final grades are received and all degree requirements are met.
2) Residence halls will remain open until noon, Sunday, May 4.
3) The Centre Marketplace will reopen at 4:30 p.m. today.
4) Following stressful situations such as these, it is important to remember that Counseling Centers on the Boca Raton, Davie and Jupiter campuses offer free assistance for the FAU community. Information is available online.
FOR EMPLOYEES:
1) All employees who were normally scheduled to work at the Boca Raton campus on Wednesday, April 30, 2008 will be paid their regular earnings for the day of absence due to the Boca Raton campus closure, provided they were not already on approved annual or sick leave. Individuals who were already on approved annual or sick leave will have their respective accrual banks charged appropriately.
2) Please be reminded that the Counseling Institute is available to assist any FAU employees who would like free assistance. Counselors can be reached 24 hours-a-day at 800-492-0253 or 561-995-9500.
