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Washington DC police say there are reports of an active shooter at Howard University, but ‘nothing confirmed’ yet.
While it is not currently clear if there is an active shooter, D.C. police and the FBI are sweeping through multiple campus buildings.
Staff and students have been advised to shelter in place. There is no word of any injuries or victims at this time. The incident has been reported in the 2400 block of 6th Street, NW.
According to The Hilltop, Howard University’s student newspaper, police evacuated A-Building and 4th Street has been closed down. They reported that the School of Medicine has been evacuated and SWAT team is on-site as of 1:35 PM.
Howard University released the following statement:
This afternoon, we were anonymously notified of a potential shooter on campus. We took the call seriously and police are investigating. Because the safety of our students and staff are our number one priority, the Admin Bldg has been evacuated. Police are currently conducting a sweep of campus. All students & staff should stay in place & shelter in place until further notification.
The university also sent students an alert text message around 12:40 PM EST that said: “ALERT!! There is a report of an ARMED person throughout the campus shelter in place while police investigate.”
The potential shooting incident at Howard University comes just a week after John Edgar Rust was arrested and charged with making racist threats to kill African Americans at Howard University.
Howard University is celebrating its 150th anniversary and homecoming this week.
About Howard University
Founded in 1867, Howard University is a historically black school is located in the heart of Washington, D.C.
Howard is recognized by the Carnegie Foundation as a research university with high research activity and is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education.
In addition to over 70 distinct undergraduate programs, it has graduate programs in business, nursing, history, computer science, engineering, pharmacy, law, social work, education, communications, art, science, divinity, dentistry, and medicine.
Howard is classified as a Tier 1 national university and ranks second among HBCUs by U.S. News & World Report. Howard is the only HBCU ranked in the top 75 on the 2015 Bloomberg Businessweek college rankings. The Princeton Review ranked the school of business first in opportunities for minority students and in the top five for most competitive students. The National Law Journal ranked the law school among the top 25 in the nation for placing graduates at the most successful law firms. Howard has produced four Rhodes Scholars between 1986 and 2017. Between 1998 and 2009, Howard University produced a Marshall Scholar, two Truman Scholars, twenty-two Fulbright Scholars and ten Pickering Fellows. In 2011, the Huffington Post named Howard the second best-dressed college in the nation. Howard is the most comprehensive HBCU in the nation and produces the most black doctorate recipients of any non-profit university.
