Sounds of ‘gunshots’ heard near campus
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By AnnaMarie Houlis, Web Editor
Panic pervaded Gettysburg College campus Saturday after a student reported an alleged gunshot fired from an unidentified white sedan on West Broadway near the corner of College Avenue at 5:59 a.m.
Police and Department of Public Safety (DPS) officers closed the investigation Sunday, confirming that the sound was, in fact, that of newspapers smacking the sidewalk as a driver delivered them.
Campus residents awoke, bemused in utter pandemonium Saturday morning, to the campus’s blaring alarm system that signaled the shutting down of school buildings. By about 7 a.m., the Gettysburg College Alert system sent out mass emails notifying students, “Police investigation still active. Shelter in place.”
“I woke up to the first phone call and started hearing the siren—that’s when I knew something was really bad,” said Sophomore Callie McCarthy. “I always thought the campus was safe. I really couldn’t believe it.”
DPS officers, who assisted local and county police by providing information, responded by immediately increasing their presence in the college’s parking lots in search of a vehicle that matched the reported description.
“I was at home, but I was called almost simultaneously to DPS getting information that an incident had occurred,” said Bill Lafferty, Assistant Dean of College Life and Director of Public Safety. “[The police] were here in a matter of minutes.”
Officers, students and faculty alike said they were taken aback by the reported incident, despite the fact that Gettysburg’s crime rate is considerably higher than the national average at 30 crimes per 1,000 residents. Relative to Pennsylvania, it is higher than 81 percent of the state’s cities and towns of all sizes, according to Neighborhood Scout.
Lafferty said that crime on campus, however, is rare—especially gun-related incidents. It is only the second such incident in the 12 years he has worked with Gettysburg College.
It was not until 8:38 a.m. that campus was deemed “all clear.” The alert email read, “No info indicating continuing threat. Campus operations can resume normal business. Campus is open.”
Information was gathered from interviews with local residents, Gettysburg College Servo employees who were on College Avenue arriving for their morning shifts and the newspaper deliverer whose vehicle matched the description. No evidence—or bullet shell case—was found. Lafferty said, “We realized at that moment in time that there was no larger threat to the community.”
His confirmation email stated, “Gettysburg College is thankful for the immediate and thorough response of local and state police as well as the Department of Public Safety regarding this incident.”
Still, parents were disconcerted.
Gretchen Coviello, mother of Gettysburg College Senior Jessica, said she immediately thought of her daughter’s safety upon hearing of the shooting. She said she thought, “Here we go again with guns. Another shooting somewhere?”
But Lafferty assured that DPS has given a strong look at campus gun control since the Virginia Tech massacre in 2007.
Pennsylvania is a shall-issue state in regards to firearms laws, meaning authorities are required to issue carry permits within 45 days to qualified applicants at least 21 years of age and deemed of good character, according to the Pennsylvania Firearm Owners Association.
However, Gettysburg College students with carry permits are not allowed to keep their guns on campus, regardless of state law.
“It might not be against the law, but it is against college policy,” Lafferty said.
Before the shootings in Virginia Tech, DPS allowed students to store their guns in the Department of Public Safety’s possession. Now, only Civil War Era students can store weapons, though semi-automatic weapons and ammunition are still prohibited from college grounds.
