Pepperdine sent out an error message to the community Wednesday night that there were shots fired at the Calabasas campus. The University then sent out a corrective follow-up message and email later that night and then hosted a town hall to answer questions the next day.
Thursday at 4 p.m.
The University hosted a town hall for the Pepperdine community in the Fireside room regarding the error message.
“I am so sorry, this is my responsibility and I want to be clear about that,” said Phil Phillips, executive vice president and chief operating officer.
At the town hall, Phillips discussed the University’s emergency protocols as well as their pre-written alerts for emergency situations.
Thursday at 10:10 a.m.
The University sent out another follow up email to the community, stating the call was an “unintentional mistake.”
“While we are relieved that the message was in error, we deeply regret the error,” Emergency Services wrote.
Wednesday Night
At 9:47 p.m., on Wednesday, an automated message went out to the Pepperdine community stating there were shots fired on Pepperdine’s Calabasas campus, urging the community to “Run, hide, fight.”
At 10:02 p.m., a second call went out to Pepperdine, stating the first call was an error, and to resume normal operations.
At 10:51 p.m., Emergency Services sent an email to the Pepperdine community and wrote the Los Angeles Sherrif’s Department confirmed no shots were fired.
“All Pepperdine campuses are safe and secure,” Emergency Services wrote.
Los Angeles Sherrif’s Department officers were at the Calabasas campus following the first call, but there was no sign of any active threat.
“We understand this was a concerning message to receive and realize this undoubtedly caused some distress,” Emergency Services wrote. “We sincerely regret this error.”
The Pepperdine community was visibly upset on Fizz, posting “The scariest call I’ve ever received” and “Was that call real?,” within the hour of the error message.
This threat for Pepperdine comes one day after the shooting at UNC, killing one faculty member, according to the Daily Tar Heel.
This is a developing story.
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Contact Abby Wilt via Twitter (@abby_wilt) or by email: abby.wilt@pepperdine.edu