Campus Alert Archive
Clark

'THIS IS NOT A DRILL': A Neck Stabbing Sends a Vancouver Campus Into an Hour-Long Lockdown

WAstabbingemergency notificationmedium confidence
Confirmed Threat

On the afternoon of May 14, 2024, a woman was stabbed in the neck on the Clark College campus in Vancouver, Washington, prompting the community college to place its main campus into an emergency lockdown. Clark's 4:43 p.m. text alert warned 'THIS IS NOT A DRILL' as police searched for the suspect, who had fled. The victim survived with non-life-threatening injuries.

Alerts
2
Response
—
Killed
—
Injured
—
Institution
Clark College
Community College · WA
~8,000 studentsRaveRAVE Alert
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

2 messages in sequence

Some alert texts below are approximate reconstructions from news coverage, not confirmed verbatim transcripts. Reconstructed texts are shown in italic with a dashed border. Verified verbatim texts have a solid border and are marked accordingly.

INITIAL ALERTSMS
Approximate reconstruction153 chars
Clark College Main Campus is in emergency lockdown. THIS IS NOT A DRILL. Lock doors, stay away from windows, remain quiet until you receive an all-clear.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

The Columbian reported that the 4:43 p.m. text told the campus it was in emergency lockdown and warned 'THIS IS NOT A DRILL'; the capitalized phrase is quoted directly from that reporting, while the surrounding lockdown instructions are reconstructed and not confirmed word-for-word.
Clark sent the alert about 14 minutes after Vancouver police received the 4:29 p.m. 911 call reporting a disturbance with a weapon at 1933 Fort Vancouver Way.
The all-caps 'THIS IS NOT A DRILL' reflects the recurring community-college problem of students assuming an active-threat alert is a scheduled exercise.
ALL CLEARSMS
Approximate reconstruction124 chars
The lockdown at Clark College Main Campus has been lifted. The suspect is no longer on campus. Normal operations may resume.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

KATU reported the lockdown was lifted after a 'violent event in Archer Gallery' that left one person with a non-life-threatening injury and noted the single assailant had left campus immediately.
No exact lift time was confirmed across sources, so this alert carries a timestampApprox rather than a precise timestamp; secondary coverage described the lockdown as lasting about an hour.
This is a genuine all-clear because it both lifts the lockdown and states the suspect is no longer on campus, rather than continuing shelter instructions.
Context

Background

Clark College is a community college in Vancouver, Washington, that uses a RAVE Alert text-and-email emergency notification system. On May 14, 2024, Vancouver police received a 4:29 p.m. 911 call about a disturbance with a weapon at the campus at 1933 Fort Vancouver Way, after Clark College employee Jami Crawford was stabbed in the neck near the Archer Gallery in the Penguin Union Building. The college issued its lockdown alert at 4:43 p.m. and lifted it roughly an hour later once police confirmed the suspect had fled. Two days later, Vancouver police acted on a tip and arrested Salvador Aguilar, 31, found asleep in a vehicle. He was later sentenced to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to first-degree assault and attempted motor vehicle theft. A subsequent internal review found Clark's emergency response system had deficiencies, and faculty had raised campus-safety concerns before the attack.
Analysis

Key Findings

Clark College sent its lockdown alert at 4:43 p.m. PDT, about 14 minutes after the 4:29 p.m. 911 call, a response gap notable for a single-campus community college
The alert's 'THIS IS NOT A DRILL' phrasing addresses a known community-college risk: students dismissing emergency alerts as scheduled drills
An internal review after the stabbing found Clark's emergency-response system ineffective, and faculty had voiced campus-safety concerns beforehand
The victim survived and the assailant was sentenced to 10 years, but the incident exposed gaps in a small college's mass-notification capability
Outcome
The campus was locked down for roughly an hour while Vancouver police searched for the assailant, who fled past Water Works Park away from campus. The victim, Clark College employee Jami Crawford, was treated at the scene and taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Salvador Aguilar, 31, was arrested two days later asleep in a vehicle after a tip; he pleaded guilty to first-degree assault and attempted theft of a motor vehicle and was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Provenance

Sources

  1. News
    'THIS IS NOT A DRILL': Clark College goes into lockdown after report of stabbing - The Columbian
    columbian.com
  2. News
    Person stabbed outside art gallery on Clark College campus; lockdown lifted - KPTV
    kptv.com
  3. News
    After stabbing at Clark College, internal review finds school's emergency response system ineffective - The Columbian
    columbian.com
  4. News
    Man who stabbed a woman at Clark College sentenced to 10 years in prison - The Columbian
    columbian.com
  5. News
    Vancouver police act on tip, arrest suspect in Clark College stabbing - The Columbian
    columbian.com
  6. Official
    RAVE Alert: Emergency Notification System - Clark College
    clark.edu
Tags
stabbinglockdowncommunity-collegewashingtonvancouvernot-a-drillemergency-notification
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion