WHITEWATER, Wis. — The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater was locked down on the first day of classes for a suspected active shooter. There was no threat, but some students say the experience will haunt them through the semester.
Students heard loud sirens in the halls and watched law enforcement officers rush on to campus after the active shooter alert went out.
Freshman Connor Peterson was said the lockdown turned a joyful moment — his first day taking college classes — into a terrifying one.
“I had my very first panic attack," Peterson said. "The staff who were in the room and the students had to calm me down. One of the students even let me hold their hand and squeeze it while I breathed in and out.”
UW-Whitewater junior Jacob Ptak said the active shooter alarm left him nervous for his classmates.
“A lot of people are now going to be scared going back to class worried that something else is going to happen," Ptak said. "I agree with them.”
Ptak and Peterson both hope UW-Whitewater is more careful with their active shooter alarm going forward.
“I would be very hesitant to believe anything is an actual threat now, even with the phone updates and everything,” Peterson said.
“It’s a big deal to tell people, ‘Hey, you have an active threat going on,’ then tell them to go back to class and act as nothing happened,” Ptak said.
TMJ4 interviewed UW-Whitewater Police Chief Matt Kiederlen after the active threat was called off.
Kiederlen explained there was a report of a person on campus in Andersen Hall who was yelling and was believed to have a weapon. Police found the person of interest and discovered they had no weapon and did not pose a threat.
"No shots, no injuries, no weapons, nothing that you would expect in a real active threat situation," Kiederlen said.
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