BOSTON — Reports of gunfire at UMass Boston on Thursday turned out to be a false alarm, according to university officials. The following day, students returned to campus still on edge.
“We had no idea what was going on. They didn’t tell us anything,” Gabby Desnoes said. “It was scary. I know there’s a lot of students who chose not to come on campus today just because they’re scared.”
On Friday, UMass Boston provided an update stating the incident started with police responding to reports of a suspicious package near the school, at the Edward M. Kennedy Institute. Minutes later, officials said, a 911 call was made reporting shots fired in the residence halls at the UMass Boston campus. Though after a thorough investigation, officials said they found no evidence of a shooting.
“It doesn’t really make sense because how could someone call and say they heard gunshots, if there’s no evidence on campus?” Brianna Ewansiha asked.
“I feel like we were left in the dark throughout the whole thing,” Jianna Correia-Silva said. “I really appreciated the first responders, but I feel like on the university level, even with like the updates after the fact, I still feel like it was vague.”
Some students were left wondering, was this response blown out of proportion? Boston 25 News Security Analyst Dan Linskey believes it was necessary.
“We can’t not send resources in case it’s real, and we have to go in as quickly as possible, identify the threat and end it to try and slash lives,” Linskey explained.
However, Linskey also said there needs to be some evidence to move forward with a scene like this one.
“If you don’t have that, then you got to stop what you’re doing, realize that you may have an overreaction situation, and start pulling those resources back as quickly as possible, because the longer they are there, the more trauma and tension it causes for the for the kids and employees and residents of the of the area,” Linskey said.
UMass Boston said in a statement, they recognize that experiences like this can have a lasting impact, and they are making resources available.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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