Campus Community,
We were contacted by the Ashtabula City Police Department shortly after 8 a.m. about reports of gunfire that occurred in the area of Westshore Drive, east of campus. Police requested area schools be place into secure mode, and we immediately placed the campus on lockdown via the campus emergency messaging system and Flash ALERTS notifications. Ashtabula police apprehended the suspect in Ashtabula Harbor without incident. At no time was the campus under direct threat and the lockdown was implemented as an abundance of precaution. The campus was on lockdown for approximately 60 minutes.
I would like to commend the Ashtabula City Police for quickly notifying the University about the incident and our campus Emergency Response Team for their prompt response preparing the campus. Thank you to our students, faculty, staff and community guests on campus today for their patience and cooperation.
For students who have not already done so, please sign up for Flash ALERTs, the official emergency text notification system of the University. Subscribe at www.kent.edu/flashalerts.
The safety of our campus community is our top priority.
Sincerely,
Susan J. Stocker, Ph.D.
Dean and Chief Administrative Officer