No one was harmed, but students and faculty were shaken up after police arrived late Friday morning at SUNY Erie’s City Campus, responding to an anonymous call claiming an armed person was inside.
Buffalo Police confirmed it responded at 10:24 a.m. Friday morning. Classes were locked down and officers conducted a sweep of the building.
Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz urged residents to avoid the area due to the situation, as the campus was on lockdown for several hours. That sweep by police officers found no one inside with a gun. By early Friday afternoon, Buffalo Police stated there was no indication the original call was legitimate, but they were continuing to investigate.
Classed were canceled for the rest of the day at all SUNY Erie campuses. Meanwhile, college leaders hosted a media briefing Friday afternoon.
"Early this morning, a phone call was received at the SUNY Erie City Campus switchboard claiming that a person with a gun was seen on the fifth floor of the post office building," said SUNY Erie president Dr. Adiam Tsegai. "Our security team immediately issued an alert to lock down the campus and have all students and faculty and staff shelter in place. Law enforcement units arrived within minutes and began sweeping the building, escorting anyone sheltering in place to exit safely off campus."
SUNY Erie Associate Vice President of Campus Safety and Security John Reinholz said Buffalo Police were continuing to investigate the initial phone call, noting that the caller did not provide a name, and callbacks to that number were not answered, raising suspicions. But he stopped short of calling it a false call, or 'swatting,' again stating Buffalo Police were the lead investigators.
"We recently received information from UPD (University Police Department) out of Albany about swatting calls, and it's something that has happened at other schools," he said. "We are in tune with that. We're aware of that, but we still don't know. We we can't jump to that conclusion. And again, I'd be getting ahead of them to say that, but we don't have any evidence that there was anybody with a firearm."
Reinholz also credited the surveillance system on campus, which helped them determine no armed individual was found.
In the meantime, Dr. Tsegai said the college was continuing to assist investigators while providing support for affected students and faculty.
"This was a difficult day," she said. "The college was able to provide on site support services and would encourage anyone who needs further support to contact EAP Child and Family Services for employers at 716-681-4300. And for our students, Crisis Services at 716-834-3131."