The University concluded its investigation Wednesday into the initial report of an armed intruder in Coates Hall Tuesday afternoon and determined that an off-duty law enforcement officer was the cause of the report.
Media Relations director Ernie Ballard said minutes before the report there was a police officer in plain clothes walking around Coates Hall with a gun on his belt.
“In an abundance of caution, police went through their normal procedures,” Ballard said.
The off-duty officer was from the Louisiana Attorney General’s Office, according to press release from state attorney general, Jeff Landry. The officer was on campus at the invitation of University officials to educate students and protect them from crime as part of welcome week events.
LSUPD determined there was no threat after investigating a report of an armed intruder in Coates Hall. The University returned to normal operations around 5 p.m. on Tuesday.
There are no reported injuries or shots fired, according to Media Relations director Ernie Ballard.
“We’d rather it be nothing and LSU police come out and investigate it fully than it be something and we just ignore it,” Ballard said.
Here is a message from @LSUprez regarding yesterday’s campus emergency: https://t.co/9il1ewQqhh pic.twitter.com/FC2qF8bIeC
— LSU (@LSU) August 21, 2019
The University sent an emergency text around 3 p.m. warning everyone in the area to run, hide or fight.
Human Resource Development instructor Edward Gibbons, who was around the area at the time the original announcement was made, said a custodian saw someone with a pistol on campus and told a teaching assistant. Gibbons and other faculty members immediately locked their doors and began checking the news. After 30 minutes, LSUPD told everyone to do a head-count and evacuate the building.
Gibbons said he was happy with how LSUPD handled the situation, but described the situation as “annoying.”
“Sure, you’re intimidated,” Gibbons said. “It’s frustrating that this can even happen.”
When LSUPD arrived, University faculty directed students from Free Speech Plaza into the Student Union Theater.
Freshmen Justin Griffin, Chaise Scott and Souley Diallo were walking in Free Speech Plaza when they were moved into the Student Union.
“We were walking from the bookstore to go back to our room,” Scott, a sports administration major, said. “Then somebody told us we were on lockdown and had to go to the Student Union.”
Students were cleared to leave the Student Union around 4:30 p.m.
“I was scared,” Griffin, a coastal environmental science major, said. “I was terrified. I didn’t know what was going on.”
Another student, Jon Oliver, was in nearby Boyd Hall when LSUPD arrived on scene. Oliver is a graduate student pursuing a master’s degree of natural sciences.
“I tried to come out of the building, but they’re not letting anybody out of there,” Oliver said. “I had to sneak out. They actually had on the other side of Boyd two cops, one with an assault rifle and one with a combat shotgun. They were not letting anybody leave. If you wanted to leave, you would’ve had to sneak out.”
This story will be updated as more information becomes available.
