St. Catherine's 'All Clear' After Security Guard Shot; Suspect Still On The Loose
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- St. Paul police are investigating the shooting of a security officer at St. Catherine's University Tuesday evening. That officer was shot in the shoulder and is expected to recover.
Police believe the security guard was making his rounds when he was shot around 9:30 p.m. near the area of Baird and Cleveland. The shooter is still on the loose.
"He confronted a suspect on the campus. He was working this evening as a security officer for St. Catherines University. He was in uniform. They are not armed. He had confronted the suspect in the wooded area of the campus about being in that wooded area and was suddenly shot," Sgt. Mike Ernster said.
A student worker trained in first aide applied pressure to the victim's wound.
About 1,800 to 2,000 students were on campus at the time that this all happened. The campus was locked down shortly before 10 p.m.
Police spent several hours with their dogs searching for the shooter, but were unsuccessful.
St. Kate's did send out tweets warning students that police were on scene searching building to building for a hostile shooter and the University asked everyone to stay indoors until the all clear was given.
At 2 a.m. Wednesday, St. Kate's and St. Paul Police issued the all clear for the St. Paul Campus after every building was searched.
All classes and campus activities are scheduled to resume Wednesday.
The security officer was treated for his shoulder wound at Regions Hospital, was released and is expected to make a full recovery.
St. Paul police say there is no threat to public safety and the case remains open and active.
The university released a statement Wednesday morning:
Last night, September 12, at approximately 9:25 p.m. there was a shooting of one of our public safety officers on campus in the woods near Cleveland Avenue. The officer suffered a wound to his shoulder, was seen and released at Regions Hospital, and is expected to make a full recovery.
The St. Paul Police Department placed the campus on lock-down while a campus-wide and building-to-building search was conducted. Public Safety and the President's Office communicated with the campus community via text messaging and email throughout this four-hour ordeal.
No one was apprehended and this remains an open and active investigation by the St. Paul Police Department.
Campus has resumed all activities. Students have been encouraged by President Becky Roloff and Provost Alan Silva to alert their faculty if they need accommodation for their academic schedule due to stress and disruption over the last 12 hours. Counselors are available.