Campus Alert Archive
Greensboro College

Former Football Player Assaults Two Employees, Triggers 40-Minute Lockdown at Greensboro's Methodist College

NCassaultemergency notificationmedium confidence

At 1:31 PM EDT on Tuesday, March 20, 2018, Greensboro College -- a small private Methodist-affiliated liberal arts institution -- tweeted and texted a campus lockdown after two college employees were assaulted. The suspect fled campus, prompting the lockdown as police searched the area. The all-clear was issued at 2:10 PM EDT, approximately 40 minutes later. The suspect was later identified as Earl Gaddis Jr., 18, a Greensboro College student and former football player, who was wanted for the assaults. The incident also triggered lockdowns at Middle College and Weaver Academy, both on the same campus grounds.

Alerts
2
Response
—
Killed
0
Injured
2
Institution
Greensboro College
Private Liberal Arts · NC
GC Alerts
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

2 messages in sequence · 2 verified verbatim

INITIAL ALERTTwitter/X
Verified verbatimFox8 WGHP directly quotes this as the verbatim Greensboro College tweet sent at 1:31 PM EDT on March 20, 2018; confirmed by Patch (Charlotte) coverage quoting the same exact text53 chars
Campus is on immediate lockdown. This is not a drill.
Tweeted at 1:31 PM EDT on March 20, 2018 -- Greensboro College used Twitter as its primary immediate-broadcast channel; GC Alerts text was also sent simultaneously
The lockdown was issued as a precaution even though neither employee saw a weapon -- the assault and subsequent flight of the suspect created sufficient uncertainty about the ongoing threat
The 'This is not a drill' suffix is verbatim from the tweet; Fox8 WGHP and Patch (Charlotte) both quote this exact two-sentence message at 1:31 PM EDT
ALL CLEARTwitter/X+39 min
Verified verbatimFox8 WGHP, Patch (Charlotte), iHeart, and WFMY all directly quote this as the verbatim Greensboro College all-clear tweet sent at 2:10 PM EDT on March 20, 201898 chars
The lockdown is lifted. You may resume normal activities. Watch your GC email for additional info.
Verbatim text confirmed: Fox8 WGHP, Patch (Charlotte), iHeart, and WFMY all quote this exact tweet posted at 2:10 PM EDT on March 20, 2018.
All-clear tweeted at 2:10 PM EDT -- exactly 39 minutes after the lockdown began at 1:31 PM EDT, consistent with student accounts of a 40-minute lockdown.
The direction to 'Watch your GC email for additional info' anticipates that the 98-character tweet cannot carry all follow-up context, directing community members to a richer channel for fuller details.
Context

Background

On March 20, 2018, two Greensboro College employees were assaulted on campus by a suspect who then fled. Neither employee saw a weapon, but the assault and the suspect's flight created sufficient threat uncertainty to trigger a campus-wide lockdown. Greensboro College tweeted the lockdown at 1:31 PM EDT and simultaneously sent GC Alerts text messages. Students reported being in class when phones buzzed simultaneously with the lockdown notice; teachers locked classroom doors. The lockdown also extended to Middle College and Weaver Academy, both of which share the Greensboro College campus grounds. Greensboro Police confirmed the suspect had left campus and the all-clear was issued at 2:10 PM EDT. The next day, the suspect was identified as Earl Gaddis Jr., 18, a Greensboro College student and former football player from Spring Lake, North Carolina. Gaddis did not return to campus after the incident. This case, combined with the October 2023 West Hall weapon discharge, establishes Greensboro College's pattern of using Twitter as a rapid primary broadcast channel before supplementing with longer text alerts.
Analysis

Key Findings

Twitter was used as the primary 'immediate lockdown' broadcast channel at 1:31 PM EDT, with the brevity ('Campus is on immediate lockdown') maximizing speed of distribution at the cost of detail
The lockdown extension to Middle College and Weaver Academy -- separate institutional entities sharing the physical campus -- illustrates the geographic trigger of lockdown cascades in shared-campus environments
Greensboro College's 39-minute lockdown arc (1:31 to 2:10 PM EDT) reflects an efficient response when the suspect is mobile and police can establish quickly that the campus perimeter is clear
Outcome
Lockdown lifted at 2:10 PM EDT after suspect confirmed off campus. Earl Gaddis Jr. was identified as the suspect. He did not return to campus following the incident. Neighboring Middle College and Weaver Academy were also locked down during the incident.
Provenance

Sources

  1. News
    Suspect sought after assault on Greensboro College employees caused lockdown (Fox8 WGHP)
    myfox8.com
  2. News
    Suspect Identified After Greensboro College Employees Assaulted (WFMY News 2)
    wfmynews2.com
  3. News
    Assault suspect is a student, former football player at Greensboro College (Spectrum Local News)
    spectrumlocalnews.com
  4. News
    Spring Lake man wanted in assaults that led to lockdown of Greensboro College, 2 other schools downtown (Greensboro News and Record)
    greensboro.com
  5. News
    Greensboro College Lockdown Lifted After Employees Assaulted (iHeart)
    iheart.com
Tags
assaultlockdownemployee-assaultnorth-carolinagreensboroprivate-liberal-artsmethodisttwitter-alertcampus-employeeshared-campus
Added May 2026Updated June 2026Via ingestion