‘UC Berkeley shelter-in-place ordered, police searching for person who may be targeting specific people

Members of the UC Berkeley campus were told to shelter in place Thursday morning because of a ‘credible’ threat to the campus, authorities said.

“Police are actively looking for a person who may want to harm specific individuals. Please continue to shelter in place at this time,” UC police said via a Tweet at 10:18 a.m.

The shelter-in place order came at about 9:30 a.m., with a tweet from university police, who said they were investigating a campus-wide threat.

UC Berkeley WarnMe: A Campus-wide Emergency alert has been issued. Campus police are investigating a credible campus-wide threat. Please go inside and move away from doors and windows. If you are not on campus, please stay away from the area. Facilities Se https://t.co/aKJcOsnr41

— UC Police, Berkeley (@UCPD_Cal) April 21, 2022

Police later issued a statement on social media saying “there is NOT an active shooter on campus,” after a campus email shared via people on social media said the order was “relative to an emerging active shooter threat.”

There is NOT an active shooter on campus. Police are actively looking for a person who may want to harm specific individuals. Please continue to shelter in place at this time. Stay tuned to Twitter for updates.

— UC Police, Berkeley (@UCPD_Cal) April 21, 2022

The university is home to 42,000 students.

People were advised to go inside and move away from doors and windows. Those not on the campus were advised to stay away from it.

Police closed the campus library, parking garages, dining halls and the rest of their more than 100 buildings. They advised students still in the building to stay there and to move away from doors and windows.

Authorities cancelled classes for the remainder of Thursday and encouraged instructors to accommodate students by recording their remote classes for viewing at another time.

The lockdown also extended to nearby schools.

In a statement, Superintendent Brent Stephens of the Berkeley Unified School District said Berkeley High; Berkeley Technology Academy; Willard Middle School, Sylvia Mendez, Washington and Emerson elementary schools; and King Child Development Center were placed on a “soft” lockdown “out of an abundance of caution.”

Students and staff were not allowed to leave the schools, and parents and visitors were not allowed to come into the schools.

Please check back for updates.