Campus Alert Archive
NDSCS

A Fatal Shooting Blocks From Campus Sends NDSCS Students Behind Locked Doors

NDpolice activityemergency notificationmedium confidence
Confirmed Threat

On the evening of January 16, 2023, NDSCS in Wahpeton told students to take shelter after gunfire erupted in the surrounding neighborhood, leaving 40-year-old Jeremiah Medenwald of Hankinson dead in a car in the 1000 block of 11th St. N. One NDSCS student described receiving a text from the college to take shelter, after which she locked her door, closed her blinds and turned off the lights. The shelter notice was later lifted as the investigation continued.

Alerts
2
Response
—
Killed
—
Injured
—
Institution
North Dakota State College of Science
Community College · ND
NDSCS 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 reconstruction146 chars
NDSCS Alert: Shots fired near campus. Take shelter now. Lock your doors, stay away from windows, and remain inside until you receive an all-clear.

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

Reconstructed from a KFYR-TV account in which an NDSCS student said she received a text from the college to take shelter and responded by locking her door, closing the blinds and turning off the lights; the exact alert wording was not published.
The Wahpeton shooting was off campus but close enough that NDSCS invoked shelter-in-place rather than treating it as a distant police matter.
ALL CLEARSMS
Approximate reconstruction147 chars
NDSCS Alert: The shelter-in-place is lifted. There is no longer an active threat near campus. Law enforcement continues to investigate in the area.

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

Reconstructed; KFYR reported the shelter-in-place at NDSCS was lifted while the broader Richland County homicide investigation continued.
The message lifts the shelter restriction but notes the ongoing investigation, consistent with an all-clear that does not declare the case closed.
Context

Background

The North Dakota State College of Science sits in the heart of Wahpeton, a small Richland County city on the Minnesota border. On the night of January 16, 2023, gunfire in the 1000 block of 11th St. N. left 40-year-old Jeremiah Medenwald of Hankinson dead, shot several times in a car. Because the shooting was within blocks of student housing, NDSCS pushed a shelter notice to students; one student told KFYR-TV she got the text, locked her apartment door, closed all the blinds and turned off the lights. The college's shelter-in-place was lifted later that night even as investigators worked the homicide; follow-up reporting noted 15-20 tips had led to dead ends in the days after. The case illustrates the Clery communication challenge for small-town community and technical colleges whose campuses bleed directly into residential neighborhoods.
Analysis

Key Findings

NDSCS issued a shelter-in-place the night of January 16, 2023, after a fatal shooting in the 1000 block of 11th St. N. in Wahpeton
The victim, 40-year-old Jeremiah Medenwald, was shot in a car off campus; no NDSCS students were harmed
A student's account confirms the college pushed a text directing recipients to take shelter; the shelter notice was lifted the same night
Exact NDSCS alert text was not published, so the messages are reconstructed and the case carries medium confidence
Outcome
The shelter-in-place was lifted that night; the homicide investigation continued for weeks with tips leading to dead ends. The shooting was off campus and no NDSCS students were harmed.
Provenance

Sources

  1. News
    UPDATE: Shelter in place lifted at NDSCS in Wahpeton after shots fired in Richland County
    kfyrtv.com
  2. News
    Wahpeton reflects on deadly Monday night shooting
    kfyrtv.com
Tags
police-activityshelter-in-placenorth-dakotacommunity-collegewahpetonoff-campus-shootingemergency-notification
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion