FBI, police investigating origin of false UTC active shooter report

From Local 3 News: UPDATE: Local and federal authorities are investigating the origin of a call that led to an active shooter response on the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga's campus Thursday.

Nobody was injured and nobody was detained during the incident, police say. Another student had a medical emergency, but it was not related.

The FBI will be helping local agencies determine the origin of an initial call that reported that shots were fired.

Students and nonessential staff have been released for the day. Normal operations will resume Friday morning.

Hamilton County Schools told Local 3 they placed several schools on a secure status today out of an abundance of caution, including:

• Orchard Knob Elementary
• Orchard Knob Middle School
• Battle Academy
• Tommie F. Brown Academy
• Normal Park Upper and Lower Schools
• Center for Creative Arts
• Howard Connect Academy
• Howard High School
• Snow Hill Elementary
• Calvin Donaldson Elementary
• Brainerd High School
• Chattanooga School for the Arts & Sciences

UTC employs a "Run, Hide, Fight" protocol in their active shooter guidelines online.
The school encourages all campus community members to call 911 if they ever see something suspicious.

UTC Chancellor Dr. Lori Mann Bruce said if students are having trouble coping with today's incident, they are offering mental health help.

"If there's anxiety or anything, [students] can go to the counseling center," she said at a press conference. "Those types of resources will still be open for the students."

Six years ago, in August of 2019, there was a similar police response to UTC after a man was seen carrying a rifle on campus. Police later discovered that it was an off-duty officer heading home after the end of his shift.
 
Last year, in August of 2024, a "potential gunman" threatened to harm Chattanooga State Community College students if they hadn't received payment, leading to a lockdown. No source of the threat nor danger was located.


PREVIOUS STORY: The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga has lifted a campus lockdown after law enforcement found no evidence of an active shooter Thursday afternoon.

Just hours before, the school sent out an alert to the community saying that a 'potential active shooter' scene was unfolding at the University Center or the Library.
 
Police searched all the buildings and gave campus officials the all-clear just before 2:00pm.
All classes and activities have been canceled Thursday, and the campus will resume operations Friday morning.

The lockdown for all Chattanooga government buildings has also been lifted.


PREVIOUS STORY: A possible active shooter has been reported on UTC's campus.

An alert sent out to the school community said the incident may be unfolding in the University Center or Library.
"Run. Hide. Fight. More info forthcoming," the alert said.

Hamilton County sent out an alert saying that the campus is currently on lockdown.

Residents are being recommended to avoid the UTC campus until further notice.

The City of Chattanooga's government buildings are also on lockdown.