Message from President Ramsey, Provost Willihnganz
Posted March 29, 2008, 12:45 p.m.
As we said in an earlier message, our campus experienced a terrible tragedy Thursday, first with the hostage situation at Campus Health Services and then with the discovery that the individual’s two children had died.
Our hearts go out to the families of the victims and to those on and off campus who were close to them.
During times like these, you may find that speaking to a trained counselor could be beneficial for you, or perhaps you know someone who needs such assistance. We have counselors waiting to help. Students may contact the Counseling Center at 852-6585. Walk-ins are encouraged for anyone in crisis.
The Counseling Center will be open next week from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., with extended hours Monday and Thursday nights until 8 p.m. through the end of the semester. Helpful information for faculty and students is available on the Center’s website. University students can also contact the Aetna Behavioral Health Hotline toll free at 1-877-351-7889.
Faculty and staff may contact the Employee Assistance Program at Human Development Corp., 589-4357.
We noted Thursday that after any crisis we evaluate the situation and examine ways to improve our procedures. We began that process Friday morning with a meeting to look at the timeline and the actions taken by units across campus. We will continue this review over the coming days.
We have been asked by some why we didn’t either evacuate campus or go into a lockdown situation. Our University Police had the situation contained to one room in the building within moments of discovering that the individual had a gun.
We also have been asked why it took a while for some students and faculty to receive text messages. We posted the message within 18 minutes of discovery of the weapon. Our first priority in this situation was to isolate that room, evacuate other people from that building, and secure the perimeter to ensure the situation could not escalate.
We’re continuing to evaluate the system to improve our response.
Once again, we encourage our students, faculty and staff to sign up for UofL Alerts by going to louisville.edu/alerts and following a quick, simple process.
Thank you for your cooperation as we work to ensure our campus remains safe.
Sincerely,
Jim Ramsey
President
Shirley Willihnganz
Provost
Message from President Ramsey, Provost Willihnganz
Posted March 27, 2008, 5:36 p.m.
Dear University of Louisville community,
As you know by now, the University of Louisville was faced with an emergency situation today when a student held a counselor at our Belknap Campus Student Health Services building hostage. Later this morning, the student’s children were found dead, and she has been charged with their murders.
Thanks to the professionalism of our counseling center, our police department and others, the campus situation was quickly defused. The process they undertook was the result of careful planning and cooperation among many individuals throughout campus ultimately resulting in no injuries and a peaceful resolution to the campus situation.
In an effort to keep everyone informed, here is a brief summary of what we know so far. The incident began when at about 8:32 a.m. our police department received a routine call to transport someone from Student Health Services to an off-site mental health facility. At about 8:46 a.m., the officer reported that the student was armed with a handgun.
Other officers were dispatched to the scene, where their first priority was the safety of the people in the immediate area and the hostage. They immediately began evacuating the building, securing all exits and establishing a perimeter to keep our students, faculty and staff out of harm’s way. At 9:04 a.m., we activated UofL Alert, a multifaceted communication system used for campus emergencies that includes messages sent to about 9,000 campus phones, cell phone text messages (for those who have signed up), email alerts and a message on the university homepage.
At 9:17 a.m., officers on the scene advised that the situation was under control and that the student had been disarmed.
Our hearts go out to the friends and family of this student and her children, and to others who have been affected by this tragedy.
All university services for students remain open. The Health Center will be open until 5 p.m. Thursday and from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday. The Counseling Center will be open until 8 p.m. Thursday night and from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Friday. Students who would like to speak to a counselor may contact the Counseling Center at 852-6585. Walk-ins are welcome. Students can also contact the Aetna Behavioral Health Hotline toll free at 1-877-351-7889. Parents may contact the Parent Hotline at 866-275-8635 if they have questions. Faculty and staff may contact the employee assistance program, Human Development Corp., at 589-4357.
Whenever we have a campus crisis, we evaluate our procedures and our actions, and we try to find ways to improve our response. As we saw today, the UofL Alert system is the fastest way to get emergency information to our community. We are asking all our students, faculty and staff to sign up for this service at louisville.edu/alerts.
We would like to thank our officers, our counselors and our Student Health Services staff for their high degree of professionalism in this situation. And we want to assure you that the safety of our campus community is our highest priority
Sincerely,
Jim Ramsey
President
Shirley Willihnganz
Provost
Further update on hostage situation
Posted March 27, 2008, 10:25 a.m.
A hostage situation this morning at the Belknap Campus Student Health Services building has been resolved.
At about 9 a.m., University of Louisville police responded to a request from the Counseling Center in the Health Services building to escort a student from that facility to a mental health facility. Upon arrival, the officer found the student was holding a counselor hostage. The student was brandishing a handgun.
The police secured the area, made the necessary evacuations and contacted the Louisville Metro Police Department. Within moments, University Police reentered the room. Prior to the arrival of the negotiation team, the situation was under control.
The student has been taken to University Hospital for evaluation.
More details will be provided later.