KENOSHA — The University of Wisconsin-Parkside reopened the campus around 1:00 p.m. following a law enforcement investigation which was determined to have been a "swatting" incident, the university announced in a press release on Saturday afternoon.
Law enforcement have confirmed that there is no active threat to the campus community.
Watch: How students on-campus at UW-Parkside reacted after being told to either evacuate or shelter in place after a swatting threat on Saturday.
At around 10:00 a.m., the university sent out an alert to students, faculty, staff, and social media, to notify them that the campus was closed and to either evacuate or shelter in place following a report of a potential threat.
"The safety and well-being of our students, faculty, and staff are our highest priorities," UW-Parkside Chancellor Lynn Askey said in a statement. "We are grateful for the swift and professional response of our campus police and local law enforcement partners. While these types of incidents are deeply unsettling, I am proud of the calm and cooperation shown by our Ranger community."
The alert came during an indoor track and field meet. The meet came to a stop and was shut down before it ever really got started.
"We were all just sitting in there and a cop came in and told us to get out," high school competitor Lily Rogers said.
"I saw it from a distance and just saw people running and leaving and I'm hearing evacuate, evacuate, evacuate," UW-Parkside Senior Simon Dominic said.
They say the alert both in person and online was vague and didn't really give them answers, only confusion.
"I would’ve wished a little more because at least you would know what was going on," Rogers said.
Some say there was little time to think and only time react.
"We all left everything. I don’t even have a coat on. I had a coat before," Dominic said.
The campus was shut down and students were told to evacuate or shelter in place. For those who were just visiting like Lily Rogers, her only option was to evacuate. Rogers and her dad traveled three hours so she could compete in shot put against collegiate athletes for the first time.
"Thankfully nothing did happen, but it was also kind of upsetting that we made it all the way down here and then that happened with no throws," Rogers said.
According to the university, authorities identified that the threat was a swatting incident, in which someone made a false report of a serious emergency.
"That’s just frustrating, childish and immature. Really dumb. A lot of people are training week in and week out, putting their bodies on the line," Dominic said.
Dominic said he feels for law enforcement, saying a hoax is a waste of time and resources that could be going towards an actual situation instead.
"This meet was one of the meets where those on the bubble of participating at indoor conference you get to see if you ran a good mark or not so it’s kind of annoying. Why would you do that," freshman Levi Krautkramer said.
The university also announced in a separate statement on Saturday afternoon that there will be an increased police presence on campus throughout the rest of the day.
Students saying although they feel upset, they feel more thankful nobody was harmed.
"My main priority was making sure everyone was good. We were all calling each other, checking in on each other. Number one priority is the safety of everybody," Dominic said.
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