Statement from CWU President James L. Gaudino

Dear Campus Community,

Yesterday our campus experienced an incident that, fortunately, turned out to be a false

report. Our law enforcement staff responded to a 9-1-1 call of a possible shooter in one of our campus buildings. The officers quickly responded in an appropriate and well-coordinated way to secure campus buildings in order to conduct a thorough search. They also alerted the campus community of the potential threat.

I applaud not only our first responders, but also our students, staff and faculty, who followed the police instructions to stay in place or to stay away from the campus during the episode. Thank you for your help, your understanding, and your cooperation, which greatly aided law enforcement as they sought to secure the campus.

While this was a false alarm—and for that I am most grateful—it reminds us that we live in times when such outside threats can be real and deadly. This was a traumatic experience for our entire campus, especially those who spent time in a secured building, awaiting for the all-clear. Our counselors are standing by for any member of our campus who needs support.

I encourage you to talk to others—friends, faculty, advisors, mentors—about what you are experiencing. I have found that it is better to be in the company of others, in our regular environments, than it is to be alone and isolated.

Our primary concern is ensuring the safety of our students. Ellensburg and CWU are safe and welcoming communities as a result of all of us working together, looking out for each other.

Thank you,

President James L. Gaudino
Central Washington University