Central Washington University given ‘all clear’ after active shooter report, lockdown

Police at Central Washington University searched the school early Wednesday evening after a report of a school shooter led to a campus lockdown, but found nothing.

Police had no suspects and had not made any arrests, according to a tweet from CWU, and there are no confirmed reports of shots fired.

An active shooter was reported at the Ellensburg campus at about 5:30 p.m. Wednesday and the lockdown followed. University police reported the school was safe and all clear at about 7:15 p.m.

Police received the initial 911 call from a student in Ferrell Hall who said she received a text from a friend in Lind Hall, saying it was being evacuated because of a shooter, according to an audio recording of the call.

Both CWU Police and the campus student newspaper, the Observer, reported the incident at about 5:30 p.m.

Mariah Valles, Observer editor-in-chief, said at about 5:20 p.m., her class in Lind Hall was evacuated to a secure area off campus and 10 minutes later she received the alert about the shooter.

Valles heard no gunshots, she said.

She could not confirm the reports of the shooter: “I’ve heard so many different things at this point,” she said.

CWU’s Twitter stated at 6:50 p.m. that police were sweeping the buildings: “We are still doing a search of campus buildings and asking students and those on campus to stay where they are.”

At about 7 p.m., the university tweeted, “We have no reports of any injuries at this time.” At 7:30 the Observer reported that an official phone alert from the university said, there were “[n]o confirmed shots, injuries or suspects. All campus buildings are secure and are clear.”