Sarah Van Buskirk
Editor-in-Chief
As of Thursday Campus Safety and the La Verne Police Department had no new information on the ongoing investigation of a shooting threat, which put the University community on edge earlier this week.
The University of La Verne – along with three other Southern California universities – was named in a handwritten note Saturday threatening a “school shooting.”
The note was found during the USC-Notre Dame football game at the Los Angeles Coliseum Saturday night and included the date and time of 6 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 27, for the possible “school shooting.”
The other universities named in the note were Pepperdine, University of Redlands and Cal Lutheran.
The ULV community was notified of the threat at 6:47 p.m. Sunday, though specific guidance regarding class delivery was not in the email message, which stated:
“Campus Safety is working closely with the La Verne Police Department and other law enforcement agencies to evaluate the situation and determine the credibility of the threat. (And) out of an abundance of caution, we are alerting our community for awareness and enhancing security measures on campus, including increased staffing levels and patrols by both Campus Safety and La Verne PD officers.”
Some professors here decided to move their classes online on Monday, and many students also chose to stay off campus after hearing about the threat.
Follow-up memos sent at 8:57 p.m. Sunday and 6:04 p.m. Monday indicated officials had “no additional information to substantiate the threat (and) will continue to maintain classes and business operations as originally planned with enhanced vigilance and security measures in place.”
Cal Lutheran canceled all in-person classes Monday, according to Yahoo News. Redlands and Pepperdine, like La Verne, held on-campus classes.
Some on-campus residents at La Verne said they were troubled by the fact that the alert went out almost a full day after the threat was discovered, leaving them unaware of the situation until Sunday evening.
Ruben Ibarra, director of Campus Safety, the University has been working closely with the La Verne Police Department and “other agencies” to evaluate the circumstance and determine the credibility of the threat.
Melssia Suchanek, records clerk at the La Verne Police Department. said that the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department is leading the investigation.
Other universities involved reported that they were working with the Los Angeles Police Department to investigate the threat.
La Verne Police patrol cars were present on campus Monday.
Rod Leveque, University spokesperson, said that the content and timing of the email message to the ULV community was based on conversations with law enforcement and Campus Safety.
La Verne police will host an active shooter presentation from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Thursday in the Campus Center Ballroom and via WebEx.
Kamila K. De La Fuente contributed to this story.
Sarah Van Buskirk can be reached at sarah.vanbuskirk@laverne.edu.
Sarah Van Buskirk is a senior journalism major with a concentration in print and online journalism. She is the Spring 2024 editorial director for the Campus Times and has recently served as editor-in-chief, sports editor and staff writer. She is also currently a staff photographer for the Campus Times and La Verne Magazine, and a staff writer for La Verne Magazine.
