Northwestern issued an “all clear” message at 11:42 p.m. Sunday after Evanston and Northwestern police dispatched to the Henry and Leigh Bienen School of Music at 70 Arts Circle Drive following reports of shots fired, University Police told The Daily Sunday night.
In a Monday morning email to the community, Chief of Police and Senior Associate Vice President Bruce Lewis said no suspect is currently in custody, but police continue to investigate.
University and Evanston police who responded to the scene found bullet casings in the area, but did not locate any injured person, he added.
“Following a thorough search of the area, police determined the threat had passed and issued the all clear,” University spokesperson Hilary Hurd Anyaso told The Daily Monday morning.
After the “all clear” message was issued Sunday night, police instructed community members to continue to avoid the area while police remained on the scene.
Community members received an initial alert at 10:53 p.m. on Sunday announcing an “active threat” on the Evanston campus. The alert instructed students to run, hide or fight and take proper shelter. It told students to lock down and barricade doors.
A following message sent at 11:07 informed members of the community that Northwestern Police were on the scene and instructed students to shelter in place until further notice.
The incident on the Evanston campus came after students criticized NU’s Alert System for releasing a faulty message after shots were fired on Clark Street Beach in April. After the incident, Lewis and Vice President for Operations and Chief Operating Officer Luke Figora announced updates to the system.
“We have updated our emergency messaging to allow us to send faster and clearer updates regarding campus security matters, weather-related alerts or other emergencies,” the pair wrote in a Sept. 21 email to the community.
This is a developing story and will be updated as information becomes available.