Friday, March 29

Threat prompts shelter in place order at UC Berkeley, classes canceled


A police officer stands outside UC Berkeley’s student union Thursday morning as authorities respond to a report of a threat on campus. Credit: Ally Markovich

UC Berkeley went into lockdown Thursday morning as police searched for a person who made a “credible campus-wide threat.”

UC Berkeley Police issued the alert at 9:30 a.m. telling students, staff and anyone else on campus to go inside and stay away from doors and windows. Anyone not currently on campus is being asked to stay away.

The department later posted to Twitter, “There is NOT an active shooter on campus. Police are actively looking for a person who may want to harm specific individuals.”

UC Berkeley has canceled in-person classes for the rest of the day, and wrote in a news release that campus services such as dining halls and libraries would remain closed “until further notice.”

Berkeley Unified School District said it had put seven schools — Berkeley High School, Berkeley Technology Academy, Willard Middle School, Emerson Elementary School, Sylvia Mendez Elementary School, Washington Elementary School and King Child Development Center — on a “soft lockdown” because of the situation at UC Berkeley. No one will be allowed to leave or enter the schools.

UC Berkeley was mostly quiet late Thursday morning as the search continued, though several helicopters were hovering overhead.

Authorities appeared to focus their attention on the Martin Luther King Jr. Student Union building on Sproul Plaza. Several police officers could be seen stationed outside building, where they turned away some students who tried to enter; a sign taped to one door warned that the union was closed.

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The alert was prompted by an “active shooter threat situation,” according to an email sent by Andrea Lambert, the chief of staff to UC Berkeley’s executive vice chancellor and provost, to campus administrators Thursday morning. The subject of the alert is “a student who has been placed on interim suspension for threatening behavior,” Lambert wrote.

Reached by phone Thursday morning, UC Berkeley Police Lt. Sabrina Reich said she was not able to provide additional information because police were still investigating.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

As police responded to a report of a threat on the UC Berkeley campus, sign on the door of the Martin Luther King Jr. Student Union warned that the facility is closed. Credit: Ally Markovich



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