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Reward offered for info after hoax caller prompts Manchester University lockdown

NORTH MANCHESTER, Ind. (WANE) — Manchester University President Dave McFadden issued a statement Saturday following a campus-wide lockdown in the early hours of the morning.

North Manchester police received a call late Friday night from a man who said he had stabbed his roommate and then entered the university’s Administration Building with a gun and explosives.

Law enforcement agencies spent hours searching every building on campus. The university issued an all-clear around 3:30 a.m., after finding no threat.

In the president’s statement, McFadden noted that the university is offering a $2,500 reward for information that would lead to an arrest.

The following is the full statement from President Dave McFadden:

Thank you to members of the Manchester University community for their cooperation and patience during the long and stressful evening on the North Manchester campus last night. Safety is our primary concern. We’re thankful students and staff on campus followed MU safety protocols and that this event was found to be a hoax.

Events like this are exceedingly rare on our campus, and I’m pleased our preplanned safety protocols were initiated and worked effectively. No campus is immune from threat in this day and age, and this is why we prepare.

The lockdown was a result of several calls that were made to area police on Friday night by a person claiming to have stabbed his roommate and then gotten inside the Administration Building with a gun and explosives. The University initiated its safety lockdown procedures at 10:48 p.m. and instructed those on campus to shelter in place.

Police from several agencies, aided by Campus Security, searched and determined that no one was inside the Administration Building, which had been specifically named in the threat.  Afterward, based on the situation, a door-to-door search of residence halls was initiated – in large part to make sure that there was no stabbing victim.  Not all buildings on campus were searched and the all clear was issued at approximately 3:14 a.m.

As with any such incident, we will do an extensive review and make improvements as necessary to prepare for any future event.

We are grateful the threat turned out not to be credible and urge anyone with information about who perpetrated this hoax to call police.  Manchester is offering a $2,500 reward leading to the arrest of the person(s) responsible for the false threats to our campus last night.

Regards,

Dave McFadden

President