Disaster averted
Gunfire prompts 'confused' building evacuation
Matt Bentel
Issue date: 3/9/09 Section: News
Media Credit: Heather KaufmanChicago Police, UIC Police and a SWAT Team conducted searches of SSB and neighboring EPASW after receiving a 911 call Friday afternoon that shots were fired in the vicinity.
Chicago police evacuated the Student Service Building (SSB) after reports of gunfire were called in last Friday.
A room-by-room search of SSB resulted in "no gun…no shell casings" being found, said UIC spokesman Mark Rosati. "The ongoing search turned up no physical evidence of a gunshot in the building," Rosati said.
The report came in around 2:40 p.m. with police arriving within minutes. By 3:00 p.m. police had a prominent presence at the intersection of West Harrison and South Racine, with multiple intersections in the immediate vicinity, including high way ramps, blocked off to traffic. As the police concentration grew, the crowd of mostly SSB workers was continuously pushed further away from the scene. Nearly 250 students were evacuated from SSB. Police also searched Education, Performing Arts and Social Work (EPSAW). None of the surrounding commercial or residential buildings were evacuated.
The confirmed gun shot came from the accidental discharge of a UIC police officers' weapon in response to the initial report of possible gunfire. "While responding, the officer drew his gun and accidentally discharged the weapon into the ground," Rosati said.
First year marketing major Rebecca Maday stood outside the SSB as the situation unfolded. "I heard the shot outside the building and tons of cars followed," Maday explained. Maday said that she saw two police cars initially converge on the corner of West Harrison and South Racine. She added that the police officers then exited their cars and ran towards the entrance of the building, resulting in the accidental discharge of the weapon by one of the officers before entering the building.
The entire event, which lasted roughly three hours, was marred in confusion. There were multiple reports of at least two gunshots prior to the police arriving. Several people claimed hearing "noise that sounded like gunshots," followed by screams.
Brittany Lawton, who works in career services, said she "heard a gunshot before police arrived." A visibly shaken Lawton was told by her supervisor to go to a conference room to hide. Police later came crashing at the door and told them to evacuate.
Most of the people inside SSB at the time of the report admitted that they were unaware of any possible gunman until a coworker or police told them to evacuate. Sam Johnson, who works in the financial aid office, only became conscious of the possibility of a threat when cops, with guns drawn, ordered him to leave the building with his hands in clear view.
The situation was so surreal that Julie Kim, an admissions counselor, upon hearing that a gunman was inside the building, thought it was a drill. "Then I saw all the cops and knew it was real," Kim said.
Others felt that the entire operation was disorganized and mismanaged. Second year pre-med student Sarah Agate, working at the Latin American Recruitment and Educational Services office, was one of the last people to be evacuated from the building. When the police finally reached her, they had difficulty communicating to one another and seemed disoriented with their task. "I don't know what its supposed to be like; my first reaction was this was disorganized," Agate said. "I did not feel safe even when they were there."
Many students and faculty questioned why they did not receive a warning via text message from UIC's SMS alert system. "We decided not to because the police response was immediate and there was no evidence of gunfire," Rosati said.
Upon calling the UIC emergency number, people were told that there was nothing to report. UIC did post a warning on the school's Web site.
Some believe the threat could have manifested from a set of timely coincidences. According to second year theatre design major Lea Palmeno, friends of hers allegedly heard a truck outside of the Education, Performing Arts and Social Work building backfire, creating a loud, gunshot-like noise. Simultaneously, a voice class was in session and they were "literally screaming." The separate incidences may explain the initial reaction and lack of appropriate evidence of a gunman.
Staff writer Geoff Berkheimer and News editor Joel Ebert contributed to this article.
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A room-by-room search of SSB resulted in "no gun…no shell casings" being found, said UIC spokesman Mark Rosati. "The ongoing search turned up no physical evidence of a gunshot in the building," Rosati said.
The report came in around 2:40 p.m. with police arriving within minutes. By 3:00 p.m. police had a prominent presence at the intersection of West Harrison and South Racine, with multiple intersections in the immediate vicinity, including high way ramps, blocked off to traffic. As the police concentration grew, the crowd of mostly SSB workers was continuously pushed further away from the scene. Nearly 250 students were evacuated from SSB. Police also searched Education, Performing Arts and Social Work (EPSAW). None of the surrounding commercial or residential buildings were evacuated.
The confirmed gun shot came from the accidental discharge of a UIC police officers' weapon in response to the initial report of possible gunfire. "While responding, the officer drew his gun and accidentally discharged the weapon into the ground," Rosati said.
First year marketing major Rebecca Maday stood outside the SSB as the situation unfolded. "I heard the shot outside the building and tons of cars followed," Maday explained. Maday said that she saw two police cars initially converge on the corner of West Harrison and South Racine. She added that the police officers then exited their cars and ran towards the entrance of the building, resulting in the accidental discharge of the weapon by one of the officers before entering the building.
The entire event, which lasted roughly three hours, was marred in confusion. There were multiple reports of at least two gunshots prior to the police arriving. Several people claimed hearing "noise that sounded like gunshots," followed by screams.
Brittany Lawton, who works in career services, said she "heard a gunshot before police arrived." A visibly shaken Lawton was told by her supervisor to go to a conference room to hide. Police later came crashing at the door and told them to evacuate.
Most of the people inside SSB at the time of the report admitted that they were unaware of any possible gunman until a coworker or police told them to evacuate. Sam Johnson, who works in the financial aid office, only became conscious of the possibility of a threat when cops, with guns drawn, ordered him to leave the building with his hands in clear view.
The situation was so surreal that Julie Kim, an admissions counselor, upon hearing that a gunman was inside the building, thought it was a drill. "Then I saw all the cops and knew it was real," Kim said.
Others felt that the entire operation was disorganized and mismanaged. Second year pre-med student Sarah Agate, working at the Latin American Recruitment and Educational Services office, was one of the last people to be evacuated from the building. When the police finally reached her, they had difficulty communicating to one another and seemed disoriented with their task. "I don't know what its supposed to be like; my first reaction was this was disorganized," Agate said. "I did not feel safe even when they were there."
Many students and faculty questioned why they did not receive a warning via text message from UIC's SMS alert system. "We decided not to because the police response was immediate and there was no evidence of gunfire," Rosati said.
Upon calling the UIC emergency number, people were told that there was nothing to report. UIC did post a warning on the school's Web site.
Some believe the threat could have manifested from a set of timely coincidences. According to second year theatre design major Lea Palmeno, friends of hers allegedly heard a truck outside of the Education, Performing Arts and Social Work building backfire, creating a loud, gunshot-like noise. Simultaneously, a voice class was in session and they were "literally screaming." The separate incidences may explain the initial reaction and lack of appropriate evidence of a gunman.
Staff writer Geoff Berkheimer and News editor Joel Ebert contributed to this article.
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