BUCKHANNON – West Virginia Wesleyan College is no longer under lockdown, college officials announced early Friday afternoon. The campus had been on alert after a disgruntled student issued verbal threats earlier in the day.
Vice president for advancement Bob Skinner said the college had issued the ‘all-clear’ as of about 1 p.m. Friday.
“We are in all clear mode,” Skinner said. “The student has not been found and she is not believed to be near the campus. The police will continue patrols around the campus this afternoon.”
Earlier in the day, college officials said police were investigating and believed they knew where the student was located.
“There’s a lockdown on campus,” Skinner said Friday morning. “We have a disgruntled student on campus.”
“We have issued a restraining order, and she is not to be permitted on campus,” he added.
Skinner said the student, who was enrolled during the Spring 2020 semester, made verbal threats earlier in the day. A limited number of faculty and staff were on campus, and all buildings were locked and employees instructed to stay where they were.
In-person classes are not being held on campus this semester due to COVID-19.
“We do the lockdown as a precaution to protect everyone,” Skinner said. “There’s some faculty on campus, but not a lot of people, so it’s relatively easy to contain everyone.”
This story will be updated as more information becomes available.
