UNCW issues all-clear after shelter-in-place Thursday night; Classes cancelled Friday
WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — The University of North Carolina at Wilmington implemented its shelter-in-place protocol Thursday evening after receiving multiple reports claiming an armed attacker was on campus.
A statement posted on UNCW’s website late Thursday night said, “The reports have been investigated and found to be untrue. We intend to thoroughly review each of these sources and provide more details in the coming days.”
UNCW said its on-campus police department worked with local, state and federal partners to conduct a full investigation and determined there was no credible threat to campus.
The University said, “We are saddened the UNCW community had to experience this, and we want to thank those who were on campus for your cooperation and patience. We are also grateful for our university police department and the agencies that assisted us.”
After the all-clear alert was issued, WWAY spoke with UNCW Police Chief Frank Brinkley at the mobile command unit.
“We absolutely hate this happened to our campus community and impacted our campus community in such a negative way,” Brinkley said.
Earlier in the evening, at 7:18 p.m., the University issued its first security alert which stated that its University Police Department was investigating the matter to determine if there was a real threat or not. Students and staff on campus were instructed to shelter in place.
The alert went on to say, “University Police have received unconfirmed, anonymous reports via social media regarding a subject with a gun on campus,” and that “UPD is taking these claims serious and is investigating.”
Students, faculty and staff who were on campus at the time sheltered inside classrooms, dorms and other buildings across campus. Some students WWAY observed were inside their vehicles.
Throughout the evening, there was a heavy law enforcement presence on campus including a helicopter and drones deployed for surveillance. Law enforcement officers wore full flak jacket body gear and carried weapons as they combed each building on campus looking for any possible threat.
At 8:10 p.m., the University issued a second alert which said, “UNCW Alert! Continue to shelter in place. Law enforcement sweeping campus. Will update when more information available.”
By 9:47 p.m., the University issued a third statement saying, “All Clear! False alarm. No active attacker on campus.”
This alert was followed by another update saying, “In an abundance of caution, UNCW will cancel all classes on Friday, Sept. 19, and all assignments and exams are postponed.” The UNCW Library will be closed on Friday, but the Campus Recreation Center, campus dining services, and campus shuttle services will be operational but may have reduced hours.
Thursday afternoon, UNCW Chancellor Aswani Volety issued a statement (below) urging civil discourse and healing following the events on campus since the assassination of Charlie Kirk who was a conservative activist and the co-founder of Turning Point USA. Kirk was killed on September 10, 2025, on the campus of Utah Valley University.
More than a thousand people attended a vigil at UNCW on Monday night for Kirk. A large “spirit rock” located on the grounds outside Fisher University Union was painted in patriotic colors and an image of Kirk.
On Tuesday, a few students painted over the rock covering up Kirk’s image. This led to a week of tension on campus prompting the Chancellor to issue a statement to the campus community on Thursday.
Students, faculty and staff should continue to monitor their email and UNCW Alerts for updates and immediately report anything of concern by calling 911 or contacting UNCW Police at 910.962.2222 or police@uncw.edu.
