Colby College in Maine goes into lockdown after shot fired on campus
WATERVILLE, Maine - The campus of a liberal arts college in Maine was put on lockdown early Saturday morning after a shot was fired in a student housing complex during what one student called a massive annual party.
Police said a non-Colby student, 24-year-old Andrew Giffor, of Waterville, Maine, will face a charge of reckless conduct with a dangerous weapon.
Police said they entered the building known as the "senior apartments" and found Gifford on the floor with a head wound. He was taken to Maine General Hospital and then placed under arrest.
According to investigators, Gifford got into a fight with 2 other non-Colby students from Waterville and fired two rounds from a handgun. Both rounds hit the corridor wall and caused no injury.
Responding to the scene, police did not perceive imminent danger to the campus community, but asked students to stay in place throughout the night out of an abundance of caution, the college said.
An email sent to the student body by Interim Dean of the College Barbara Moore at 2:21 a.m., which was shared by a student, said the Waterville Police Department "have a person in custody who attended events there and fired a gun."
"We urge you to shelter in place until we have additional information that the campus is entirely safe," wrote Moore, who did not immediately respond to an email from The Associated Press.
Landon Kissell, an 18-year-old freshman from Manhasset, New York, said he left campus by car "just to play it 100% safe" about five minutes after receiving a message about the incident at 1:49 a.m.
"We have an open campus so there is not any security to stop anyone from entering or leaving campus so I was able to just drive right out," Kissell told the AP in a social media direct message, adding that he stayed in communication with his friends on campus.
"It was more at first just a state of confusion where nobody understood what was going on. There were different rumors swirling immediately of what was actually happening," he said.
"There was definitely some scramble to find a secure location but since everyone was inside already due to the temperature that most people either stayed right where they were or went to the next building over and locked themselves there," Kissell said.
Alfond apartments, where the shot was fired, was the site of what Kissell described as "a massive party night" that takes place for about 24 hours every year on St. Patrick's Day. The holiday is on March 17 but the party, known as "doghead," was moved up by a week this year because the holiday falls during Colby's spring break, he said.
Kissell first learned of the lockdown from his dormitory resident assistant, who sent a text to students in the Sturtevent residence hall.
"Everyone was freaking out at first especially because nobody ever expected having to go into lockdown in little Waterville, Maine," Kissell said. "But since an official email was sent out by the school things have been better."
Kissell did not initially see the email from Moore or another from a student government leader who told students to remain in place.
"I never saw those emails until just now because who would think to check their email in a situation of panic right?" Kissell said at 3:25 a.m. from his car in the state capital of Augusta, about 20 miles (32 km) south of the Colby campus. He was considering whether to spend the rest of the night with friends at Bates College in Lewiston, another 34 miles (54 km) south of Augusta.
Gifford's bail was set at $10,000 cash. He is scheduled to be in court June 12.
Counseling services will be available for individual and group support on campus, where staff provided support to students during the night, the school said.