Students and staff at Rider University in New Jersey were told to shelter in place for nearly an hour on Monday afternoon after the threat of a “potential active shooter” was reported.
Around 2:10 p.m., the shelter-in-place order at the university’s campus in Lawrence Township was lifted. According to alerts sent by the university, around 1:15 p.m., students and staff had been told to stay inside and move away from windows. “There is no active threat to campus,” the alert said. “We will share more info with you ASAP. Investigation is ongoing.”
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Rider News Managing Editor Amethyst Martinez said: “I was in class at the time, and we all hid and there was like the super big feeling of like fear kind of going through the room. Students were crying. Students were calling their parents, it was very scary.”
After the shelter-in-place was lifted the university sent text messages to students saying that there is no active threat on campus. However, the police investigation is still ongoing.
Rider spokeswoman Kristine Brown said, “We know these situations are scary, and we appreciate everyone’s cooperation.”
Lawrence police chief Christopher Longo said that first responders arrived at the university after the Rider University Public Safety Department received a threatening phone call for the campus on Route 206. “The threat is being investigated and there is no active shooter at this time. In an abundance of caution, proper safety precautions were taken until the threat can be properly investigated,” Longo said.
3,232 undergraduate students and 1,033 students are enrolled in Rider.
