Campus Alert Archive
WVSU

An Evening Threat Report Put West Virginia State University's HBCU Campus on Lockdown for 90 Minutes

WVarmed personemergency notificationmedium confidence

On the evening of January 16, 2023, West Virginia State University in Institute, West Virginia placed its campus and residence halls on lockdown after Kanawha County Metro 911 dispatchers received a report of a man making threats just after 8:30 PM EST. University Police and Dunbar Police conducted a threat assessment and lifted the lockdown at approximately 10:00 PM EST after determining there was no credible threat to campus.

Alerts
2
Response
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Killed
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Injured
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Institution
West Virginia State University
Hbcu · WV
WVSU Emergency Notification
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 ALERTmulti-channel
Approximate reconstruction233 chars
WVSU Emergency Notification: The University has received a threat and out of an abundance of caution the campus and residence halls are being placed on lockdown. Remain where you are, secure your doors, and await further information.

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

Reconstructed: WSAZ reported that the University received a threat just after 8:30 PM on January 16, 2023, and University Police placed the campus and residence halls on lockdown out of an abundance of caution pending a threat assessment.
WOWK-13 confirmed that Dunbar Police and WVSU Police were both investigating the incident, consistent with the university's location in Institute, adjacent to Dunbar, West Virginia.
West Virginia is in the Eastern Time zone.
ALL CLEARmulti-channel
Approximate reconstruction223 chars
WVSU Emergency Notification: The lockdown has been lifted. University Police have completed a threat assessment and determined there is no threat to the university. Normal activities may resume. Thank you for your patience.

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

Reconstructed: WSAZ reported the lockdown was lifted at approximately 10:00 PM EST after the University Police Department determined no threat to the university existed.
The lockdown lasted approximately 90 minutes from initiation to all-clear.
Context

Background

West Virginia State University, a historically Black university located in Institute, West Virginia, was placed on lockdown for approximately 90 minutes on the evening of January 16, 2023. According to WSAZ, Kanawha County Metro 911 dispatchers received a report of a man making threats to the campus just after 8:30 PM EST, prompting the University Police Department to lock down the campus and its residence halls as a precautionary measure while a threat assessment was conducted. WOWK-13 News confirmed that both Dunbar Police and WVSU Police were involved in the response, reflecting WVSU's adjacency to the city of Dunbar in the Charleston-Huntington metropolitan area. After completing the assessment, university police determined there was no threat to the university and lifted the lockdown at approximately 10:00 PM EST. WVSU is a land-grant HBCU founded in 1891 and serves approximately 2,000 students. The January 2023 incident was separate from a September 2024 event in which police pursued a fleeing vehicle suspect near campus, also triggering a shelter-in-place.
Outcome
WVSU Police and Dunbar Police investigated the threat report and determined there was no credible threat to the university. The lockdown was lifted at approximately 10:00 PM EST, about 90 minutes after it was initiated. No injuries were reported and no suspect was apprehended on campus.
Provenance

Sources

  1. News
    West Virginia State University lockdown lifted, University says - WSAZ
    wsaz.com
  2. News
    West Virginia State University lockdown lifted - WOWK-13 News
    wowktv.com
Tags
lockdownthreathbcuwest-virginiano-threat-found2023evening-incident
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion