By Aaron Sortal

UPDATED at 12:45 AM, October 15 with student reaction

SYRAC– — USE, NY-Syracuse University was locked down for an extended period earlier this evening after a shooting took place near the campus. The University is no longer under the lock down as local authorities scramble to get a handle on the full extent of the situation.

At 8:29 PM, Syracuse University students received an email, followed by a phone call, from the Department of Public Safety to say indoors and not let anyone into their homes or dorms. What caused the closings was a homicide on Hope Avenue, a street close to the University campus.

A shooter was then thought to go into Oakwood Cemetery, at which point the University was put on lock down.

One person was killed and at least one other wondered in the shooting.

According to Alexa Torrens’s story in the Daily Orange:

“At about 9 p.m., a Syracuse police officer said it is believed at least one person is armed near Oakwood Cemetery, though the officers on the scene are unsure how many people total are in the area.”

Oakwood Cemetery is located directly behind Syracuse University with ESF, Day and Flint Halls closest to the scene.

The State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF), located on Syracuse’s campus went into lockdown.

Students in Flint Hall were told to “turn their lights off”, according to the Daily Orange.

Other buildings were then encouraged to go into lockdown.

At 10:37 PM, students received an email from Department of Safety to “Be advised the emergency no longer exists and it is clear to resume normal activity. Continue to be diligent and report any suspicious activity.”

Currently it is unclear if the suspects involved were Syracuse students or had any connection to the university’s community.

Students Recount Confusion As Campus Became Aware Of Shooting

At 8:30 PM, Ellen Greene, an undeclared freshman from Massena, NY, was working the desk at Manley Field House, an athletic center near Oakwood Cemetery. It was there that she received the news that the campus was on high-alert.

Greene first didn’t think anything of it until her boss came over and moved her to an area with the rest of the students.  “They seemed prepared for the situation,” Greene said of the reaction, which made her feel safe.

Watch: Video From Inside The  S.I. Newhouse School of Communication During Lockdown

Across campus, there was miscommunication about what was happening.

Gabriela Robles, a freshman Public Relations major from Queens, New York, was locked in a classroom inside the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications.

The Syracuse Department of Public Safety (DPS) never called an official campus-wide lockdown, but they placed certain buildings on specific lockdown, for example, Flint Hall and Day Hall located closest to the scene were locked down.

Newhouse was far from the situation, but students inside experienced the miscommunication.

Robles said that Newhouse was “locked in”, meaning that no one could get in but they could leave. Students were then moved to a large space- the Joyce Hergenhan Auditorium, with the rest of the people in the building.

Robles said that students were told they were encouraged to stay in certain areas, but were also told they could leave.

“No one knew what to do,” Robles said. “So they just stayed put.”

Watch: Live student TV broadcast coverage of the developing situation

Cover Photo Credit: NewsChannel 9/ Twitter

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