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Posted by: kwflatbed

EASTON — A Stonehill College dormitory was evacuated Wednesday night and the rest of the campus locked down after a student reported finding empty ammunition boxes near a residence hall.

The move to secure the campus didn't come until four hours after the initial report, angering some who said the school should have learned lessons by how Virginia Tech handled its emergency situation Monday.

“If they felt there was something wrong, they should have alerted them immediately,” said Robin Phillips of Brockton, whose son Perry Phillips is a commuting freshman at Stonehill College and was on campus Wednesday night. She said authorities should have taken immediate action.

Virginia Tech, the scene of a 32-person massacre Monday morning, waited two hours before locking down its campus after two people were gunned down. Two hours later, 30 more were killed by the same person.

Stonehill College spokesman Martin McGovern said the response there was thorough and orderly, pairing campus and Easton police who assessed the situation and gathered resources and personnel for any potential threat.

O'Hara Hall was placed under immediate surveillance and vehicles in the parking lot visually searched, he said. Police surveillance continued throughout the night, he added.

Campus police received the initial report at 6:35 p.m., but the first alert was not issued until 10:44 p.m. via e-mail, which some students did not immediately see, according to published reports. Another email at 11:09 p.m. advised that police searched O'Hara Hall, which had been evacuated, and did not find any weapons or ammunition.

“Students should feel free to resume their regular activities on campus,” the second message advised.

Watch www.enterprisenews.com for updates during the day. Full coverage in The Enterprise newspaper.

http://enterprise.southofboston.com/...ews/news01.txt

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Posted by: 209

Go in to an ROTC students dorm room and see what you find, especially Army ROTC you will find ammo boxes, pictures of them with M16, etc. etc. etc.

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Posted by: Wolfman

Someone left a copy of "Field & Stream" on a table in the lobby!!!
Lockdown! Mobilize! Cower!

The sky is falling!

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Posted by: SOT

The new problem is the old problem....When to lock down a campus or school.

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Posted by: PVD24

Here are copies of the emails sent out....

Stonehill College Res Hall Evacuated

NEW ENGLAND IN BRIEF
Dorm evacuated after suspicious find

April 19, 2007

Police evacuated a dormitory at Stonehill College last night after receiving a report that a student found five empty boxes of buckshot shells behind the building. Students were allowed to return after no weapons or ammunition was found, college spokesman Martin McGovern said. After the report was received around 6:30 p.m., McGovern said, college police worked with Easton police to evacuate and search O'Hara Hall. Dorm residents were ushered to the nearby Martin Institute on campus at about 10:30 p.m. while the search was underway, and were allowed to return an hour later, he said. The college remained on alert while the investigation continued, but McGovern said no changes were expected in today's class schedule.



ORIGINAL UPDATE 10:44PM April 18, 2007
This evening, Stonehill College Police Department (SCPD) received a report that five empty boxes of buckshot shells were found by a student behind O’Hara residence hall.


Working with the Easton Police Department, SCPD has evacuated O’Hara Hall so that a search of the building can be conducted. O’Hara Hall residents have been escorted to the nearby Martin Institute on campus while the search is underway. Students on the rest of the campus have been asked to stay in their rooms until further notice.


As soon as we have more information, we will provide an update.


David DiNapoli
Chief
Stonehill College Police & Safety

POLICE UPDATE #2 11:09PM April 18, 2007:
This evening, Stonehill College Police Department (SCPD) received a report that five empty boxes of buckshot shells were found by a student behind O’Hara residence hall.
Working with the Easton Police Department, SCPD evacuated O’Hara Hall so that a search of the building could be conducted.
O’Hara Hall residents were escorted to the nearby Martin Institute on campus while the search was conducted.
Upon searching the building, the police did not find any weapons or ammunition.
Students have returned to O'Hara Hall.
SCPD and Easton Police will continue to their policy of close cooperation and vigilance.
Students should feel free to resume their regular activities on campus.

POLICE UPDATE #3 8:07 AM April 19, 2007:

Since our last alert, some Stonehill community members have asked additional questions about the evacuation of O’Hara Hall last night. We wish to respond to those questions.

At 6:35 p.m. last night, the Stonehill College Police Department received a report that five empty cardboard boxes that are used to store buckshot shells were found by a student behind O’Hara Hall.

Realizing the potential seriousness of that report, the Stonehill College Police Department immediately contacted the Easton Police Department and activated emergency protocols.

Within 20 minutes, the two departments established a joint command and O’Hara Hall was placed under surveillance by tactically-trained Easton Police Department officers.

The joint command began a situational assessment of the potential threat and gathered the personnel and resources necessary to execute an effective response. At all times, the top priority was to ensure the safety of students and other community members.

Both the Easton and Stonehill police departments called in additional officers and stayed in contact with College officials as the situation unfolded.

The officers conducted visual searches of the cars in the O’Hara Hall parking lot, pursued various other lines of inquiry and then implemented an evacuation of O’Hara Hall.

The evacuation was conducted in an orderly fashion. The students were directed to the adjacent Martin Institute.

There, President Mark Cregan, C.S.C., Stonehill Police Chief David DiNapoli, and Director of Campus Ministry Jim Fenstermaker, C.S.C. informed the students of the situation while the police conducted a search of O’Hara Hall.

Once the building was cleared and no weapons or ammunition were found, the residents returned to O’Hara Hall.

After the search, the Easton and Stonehill police departments recommended that no further building searches were necessary at that time.

Throughout the night, the two police departments kept the campus -- and O’Hara Hall in particular -- under close surveillance.

The investigation is on going. The security and safety of our community remains the highest priority for both the Stonehill Campus Police Department and the Easton Police Department.

We will continue to provide updates on this page: www.stonehill.edu/update .

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Posted by: CJIS

5 Ammo Boxes At Stonehill College Take 4 hrs for Student Notifaction!!!

(news.bostonherald.com)
A Stonehill College dorm in Easton was evacuated last night after a student discovered five empty boxes used to package shotgun shells in a parking lot near a dorm;however, students are angry it took campus police four hours to notify them to either evacuate or remain in their rooms.

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