Shooting Threat at WIU

By Margaret Lyons in News on Mar 26, 2008 6:11PM

Western Illinois University and Macomb police are investigating an anonymous note found in an off-campus apartment.

According to the Office of Public Safety Director Bob Fitzgerald, an employee of an apartment complex near campus reported receiving a handwritten note in the complex's payment drop-box that indicated there would be a shooting on the WIU campus today.

The university found out about the note at 8:15 this morning, and an alert went up on the WIU website at 9:30am, and their emergency alert system sent out a warning at 9:45.

WIU says students and faculty who miss class today won't be penalized. Police patrols have been beefed up around campus, and so far no incidents have been reported.

Western Illinois University in Macomb, about 250 miles southwest of here, has about 12,000 students. [WIU's release, Trib]