University of Alabama

University of Alabama: 'Students were never in danger'

The Tutwiler dorm at the University of Alabama was put on lockdown last night.

But the University didn't immediately notify students, parents or the community. The Crimson White, the student newspaper, was actually the first to confirm the lockdown.

The swift response of the UAPD does not deserve criticism. Officers searched the dorm and reported that the area was safe, according to reports.

University President Judy Bonner said the university doesn't notify campus about incidents if no one is in danger.

University of Alabama President Judy Bonner said no students were in danger.

In a Monday morning address sent to students, Bonner clarified the origins of the rumored threat. Some students and UA community members were critical of UA's response and lack of campus-wide notification of the threat, but Bonner said "no one was in danger" and "immediate action" to notify the campus community wasn't necessary. 

"Last night, The University of Alabama received an unconfirmed report of armed individuals in the vicinity of Tutwiler," Bonner wrote in the address. "The information was sent to UAPD from an external law enforcement agency who had been contacted by a parent whose daughter had heard it from multiple other students who had seen social media posts. No eye-witness or first-hand knowledge of the alleged threat was reported to UAPD or any law enforcement agency."

Bonner said UAPD responded within one minute of receiving the information and "promptly confirmed" that reports of armed gunmen were inaccurate. 

"No weapons or unauthorized individuals were found in Tutwiler or in the vicinity. Students were never in danger," Bonner said.

Though the UA campus was relatively calm and quiet late Sunday night and early Monday morning as officers search Tutwiler, social media platforms like Twitter and Yik Yak were exploding with unsubstantiated rumors of masked gunmen and other scenarios after student newspaper The Crimson White first confirmed the lockdown. 

Many students believed the rumors stemmed from a comment on a YouTube video written by a user named "Aurthur Pendragon", but UA officials have not yet confirmed or denied their knowledge of the comment. 

Posting on a Vice documentary on racism at the University, the user wrote about "the day of retribution," seemingly specifically targeting the Greek community and their treatment of minorities. It appears to have been posted sometime around noon Sunday.

No other dorms were on lockdown or were searched, according to a UA official on the scene Sunday night. 

"I can assure you that UA will always respond quickly and notify the campus community when you need to take immediate action," Bonner said. "In this case, no one was in danger and immediate action was not required."