"We were able to notify everyone quickly:" Lockdown situation at Carroll an opportunity to test alert system



WAUKESHA -- A potentially dangerous situation on the Carroll University campus Monday night, August 22nd turned out to be a false alarm.

Carroll University



Classes don't start at Carroll University until after Labor Day -- but around 450 students, mainly athletes, have already moved into housing on campus.

Carroll University was placed on lockdown on Monday night following a report of an individual who may have had a weapon. Officials sent out texts and emails to students through the schools alert system called PioAlerts.

According to Waukesha police, around 8:30 p.m., Carroll University Public Safety officials called 911 to report a suspicious person looking into windows at the Humphrey Memorial Chapel -- possibly armed with a firearm.

Carroll University



When officers arrived on scene, the individual was found lying on the grass to the rear of the building. Officers were able to talk with that person from a distance, until the person grabbed an object and ran into a classroom through an unlocked door.

Carroll University was then placed on lockdown while additional officers responded to the scene -- including the Waukesha County Sheriff's Department's armored vehicle.

Officers worked with Public Safety officials to isolate and contain this incident to the single building.

Carroll University



Police made telephone contact with a professor and students inside the building and were able to determine the individual was not a student, and was not armed. That person was a professor's 15-year-old nephew, who was holding a stick.



The lockdown was eventually lifted.

Carroll University officials said this incident provided an opportunity to test the alert system. The PioAlert system is routinely tested, but the incident Monday night proved that it is working properly.

"These situations can be anything to a severe weather alert to an incident like what occurred (Monday) night on campus. (Monday) night, they worked very well. We were able to notify everyone quickly of the lockdown situation. As soon as the lockdown was lifted, we were able to tell them they could resume their activities," Jess Owens, Carroll University spokeswoman said.





Mike Langenohl, a junior at Carroll, received a PioAlert Monday night. The football tight end and his fellow teammates went inside a nearby building and locked the door, watching the scene unfold from the window.

"There was a few cop cars. A van yelling at a guy around the Art Center to put his hands up," Langenohl said.



Owens said the situation Monday night provided reassurance for students and staff that the alert system worked properly in a real-life situation -- just in time for the rest of the 3,500 student to arrive for the start of classes.

Carroll students are automatically signed up for the PioAlert emails, but they can also opt in during orientation to receive the text messages.

Related resources:


    Monitor FOX6 News and FOX6Now.com for updates on this developing story.