Immediate panic ensued the night of Thursday, Jan. 25, when an MC JASPER911 alert was sent to students, parents and faculty. GRACECARDINAL/THE QUADRANGLE
By Brooke DellaRocco, News Editor
A reported gun sighting in Manhattan College’s Lee residence hall produced a campus-wide lockdown, prompting the NYPD to respond. The individual involved was taken into custody, but no weapons were retrieved from the scene.
Immediate panic ensued the night of Thursday, Jan. 25, when an MC JASPER911 alert was sent to students, parents and faculty. The notification contained no information about the gunman’s description but advised temporary safety measures stating, “possible person with a gun in Lee Hall. stay away or lockdown.”
Both dormitory halls, at almost full capacity, were thrown into immediate lockdown, with students breaking into chaos, calling parents and loved ones, informing them of the events taking place.
A freshman student, who requested to stay anonymous, lives on the tenth floor of Lee Hall and expressed their immediate fear of the situation when they were alone in their room during the campus shutdown.
“I never really thought something like this would happen,” they said. “I called my mom and she was also freaking out. It was just immediately scary. I turned off the game that I was playing and I just listened.”
Updates were provided every 15 to 30 minutes, instructing students to stay locked down and not leave their location, as well as providing limited information about an ongoing NYPD investigation. A little over an hour after the incident, an alert was sent out stating, “incident over. Lockdown is ended. No weapons observed or recovered. NYPD still investigating.”
Although this came as a relief to many, there was still tension in the air as students made their way back to their dorms.
“I feel like the updates that we got were super vague,” the anonymous student said. “I was so confused when it ended and they said, ‘no weapon obtained’. I thought, ‘how am I supposed to leave my room and feel safe?’.”
Keira Rheinheimer, a freshman student who lives in Lee Hall, mentioned her similar distaste for the updates provided.
She was in Draddy Gymnasium at the time of the incident and was put into lockdown along with the pep band, dance team and cheer team.
“I didn’t know what was going on,” Rheinheimer said. “They were trying to tell us stuff but I didn’t feel like they were telling us the truth. They were not giving us enough information for me to know [what was happening].”
Almost two hours after the incident, an email was sent from President Milo Riverso, Ph.D., indicating that Manhattan College responded quickly and effectively to the situation.
“The campus immediately went into lockdown mode, and NYPD was on-site within minutes,” Riverso wrote. “The individual in question was identified and is in discussions with the police. No weapon of any kind was found, and all members of the community are safe.”
The college’s community, however, was not left settled by this information and wished to know more.
“I thought, ‘why are we getting this email?’,” the anonymous student said. “This short little paragraph, when the nativity animals were stolen, it was an essay. I just felt like he didn’t really care as much as he should have.”
The following morning, another email surfaced from the Office of the Provost canceling classes for the day.
“The safety and well-being of our community are our top priorities, and I understand that an event such as this can be distressing,” the email stated.
The email went on to explain that campus security and the NYPD “responded quickly,” and that the best interest of the community was immediately taken into consideration, offering counseling services to students during the aftermath.
While both the president and provost indicated the timely response and effectiveness of the college’s steps taken, students felt differently, mentioning how they were completely left in the dark.
Questions soon arose about campus security protocols and the efficacy of emergency response measures.
Student body president, Jazi Riley, provided a statement on the MC student government Instagram account, @mcstudgov, expressing her condolences and offering resources to the student community. Riley also mentioned how she did not agree with how the college responded.
“I know last night was extremely frightening, and the disorganized reaction and protocol added to the chaos of the event,” Riley wrote. “We have started expressing our dissatisfaction and rage, which we know many of us are experiencing.”
Public Safety declined to comment on the matter.
When the NYPD was contacted in search of an incident report, they refused to provide it on the terms that The Quadrangle Student Newspaper wasn’t “directly involved.” Despite this violating the Freedom of Information Act, Quadrangle staff were nevertheless unable to get a report.
At around 5 p.m. on Jan. 26, Riverso reached out to the student body once again to clarify any misinformation and address the miscommunication on the administration’s end.
His email explained that there had been a rumor of a weapon on campus and that the campus was put on lockdown to investigate. Although the NYPD and Public Safety office did not find a weapon of any kind, Riverso assured the public that he has heard their complaints.
“We have received several suggestions of where we may improve our response,” Riverso wrote. “Although we had just recently updated our emergency response protocols, we are bringing in a consultant to review the suggestions and revise if any further modifications are required. Given this incident, we also understand the importance of communicating clearly with the campus community.”
With actions being taken to strengthen the college’s future responses, students are varied on whether they feel truly safe on campus. Many took the day off to reflect on their thoughts and cope with their emotions.
“All you can do is wait,” Rheinheimer said. “Something I am disappointed by with the school is how they communicate with us, because we deserve better than what they did.”