Follow Up to Last Night’s Incident Near the Chicago Campus
Dear members of the Northwestern community,
Last night, starting just before 9 p.m., you received a series of alerts about gunshots that were fired near Wieboldt Hall on Chicago Avenue on the University’s Chicago campus.
We want to thank everyone for their quick response in what was a stressful situation.
Northwestern University Police (NUPD) first received a call of shots fired via a campus emergency blue light callbox at 8:55 p.m. and sent the first alert to the community at 8:59 p.m. The alerts continued until police were able to determine there was no longer a threat to campus, and an all-clear was sent at 9:33 p.m.
The University is not aware of any injuries in the incident, which continues to be investigated by the Chicago Police Department. Three people were initially detained by NUPD, but it is not immediately clear if they were involved in the incident. It is believed that none of those involved were affiliated with Northwestern.
We recognize that incidents in which shots are fired are stressful and can create anxiety. We encourage you to familiarize yourself with these safety resources and to have these ready in your smartphone if you ever need them.
- Safe Ride: a safe and free alternative to walking alone after dark on or near the Evanston campus. Download the Safe Ride app here.
- Safety Escorts: a free service to provide a walking escort or to monitor travel on the Evanston or Chicago campuses. Request an escort at (847) 491-3456 in Evanston or (312) 503-3456 in Chicago.
- Campus Shuttles: free shuttles between the Evanston and Chicago campuses that run late into the night.
- NUGuardian: a free peer-to-peer mobile app for students to turn their phone into a personal safety device. The app allows students to designate smartphone contacts to act as “guardians” and virtually walk with them on or off campus in Evanston.
- Consider adding the Northwestern Police telephone number, (847) 491-3456, to your cell phone’s favorite contacts list to reach University Police quickly to report suspicious activity.
- Get text/phone emergency alerts on Rave: your university email address is automatically enrolled in alerts, but you need to sign up to receive text/phone alerts.