UPDATE: 5:05 p.m. - April 2, 2024
There were some tense moments on the campus of MSU-Billings Tuesday morning as the school was placed under lockdown and told to shelter in place after a report of an active shooter.
That active shooter threat turned out not to be true. Instead, it was over an individual who made online threats of committing a shooting.
Billings Police and the Yellowstone County Sheriff's Office responded to the call and confirmed that no shots were actually fired and no one was injured.
Officers cleared all the buildings and located the person who was accused of making the threat off campus. There is no threat and school continued as normal about 10 a.m.
Billings Police say the original information of an active shooter was due to an error in the messaging system.
UPDATE: 10:10 a.m. - April 2, 2024
The Billings Police Department provided this update at about 10 a.m.:
BPD Officers have located the individual who was reported to have made an online threat. This individual was not located on campus and the investigation into the threat is being conducted. There is no threat to anyone on campus at this time.
University officials have lifted the lockdown and shelter-in-place order.
The university issued this statement:
April 2, 2024, Update at 10:14 am:
ALL CLEAR: The lockdown and shelter in place is no longer in effect.
The suspect in question was not reported to have been seen on either campus. Law enforcement has detained the suspect off campus.
Classes and business will continue as usual for the remainder of the day. Counselors will be available on both the university campus and City College campuses for students, faculty, and staff. More information will follow.
Parents of students and members of the community can sign up to be included in the emergency alert system online at https://msubillings.edu/ens/
UPDATE: 9:45 a.m. - April 2, 2024
The university posted this message to its emergency notification website:
April 2, 2024, Update at 9:41 am:
Lockdown remains in place. At approximately 8:46 a.m. University Police received an anonymous tip through Crime Stoppers that a student believed to be enrolled at the university had made threats online of committing a shooting. There was no clear target or location identified in the reported threat. Out of an abundance of caution both the MSU Billings university campus and City College campus went into a lockdown at 9:05 a.m. with direction to shelter in place. At 9:21 a.m. a follow up message clarifying that no shots had been fired was issued.
A shelter-in-place and lockdown order was issued Tuesday morning at Montana State University Billings and City College campuses.
"A threat has been made that could impact your safety," university officials said in an emergency alert.
College officials said at 9:21 a.m. in a text bulletin that no shots have been fired but the lockdown remains at both campuses.
The alert states:
April 2, 2024:
EMERGENCY NOTIFICATION: THIS IS NOT A TEST. Shelter in place. A threat has been made that may impact your safety. A lock down is in place.
Updates will be provided as conditions warrant.
Visit msubillings.edu or check email for more info.
The Billings Police Department posted this update to social media at about 9:40 a.m.:
The BPD is aware of the information of an active shooter at the MSUB campus. Billings Police Department Officers have responded along with MSUB Officers, and Yellowstone County Sheriff's Office Deputies and have determined this was an error in the messaging system and there is NO active shooter, there are no injuries, and there does not appear to be an onsite threat. Officers are currently doing a walkthrough of campus and investigating a possible online threat that was originally reported. - Lt. Lennick
