{
  "id": "2026-03-21-indiana-university-pennsylvania-iupattys-shots-fired",
  "slug": "indiana-university-pennsylvania-iupattys-shots-fired-2026-03-21",
  "institution": {
    "name": "Indiana University of Pennsylvania",
    "shortName": "IUP",
    "state": "PA",
    "type": "public-r2",
    "alertSystemName": "IUP Alert",
    "alertPlatform": "Everbridge",
    "enrollment": 8400
  },
  "incident": {
    "date": "2026-03-21",
    "type": "shooting",
    "cleryCategory": "emergency-notification",
    "resolution": "suspect-apprehended",
    "headline": "Shots fired into the air near campus during a street celebration; suspect arrested",
    "headlinePublic": "Shots fired into the air near campus during a street celebration; suspect arrested",
    "summary": "On the night of March 21, 2026, during Indiana University of Pennsylvania's unsanctioned IUPatty's St. Patrick's Day celebration, police say [Tymere Johnson, 22, of Clairton, Pennsylvania, fired five shots](https://www.cbsnews.com/pittsburgh/news/shots-fired-near-iup-iupattys-celebration/) into the air at 8th and School Street, adjacent to campus, with crowds of student partiers nearby. IUP's [Everbridge alert platform pushed two shots-fired notifications](https://www.thepenn.org/news/multiple-gunfire-reports-large-crowds-define-iupatty-s-2026/article_273ef170-f9ee-42dd-b6e9-6f95df84c21c.html) (one at 10:14 PM EDT for 8th and School Street, and a second at 11:23 PM EDT for 7th and Locust Street), followed by an 11:56 PM EDT update announcing Johnson's arrest. Police later said they did not believe the second report posed any danger to the community, and no one was injured in either call.",
    "outcome": "Pennsylvania State Police arrested Tymere Johnson, 22, during a traffic stop, recovering a stolen .40 caliber handgun. Johnson was charged with prohibited possession of a firearm, carrying a firearm without a license, and receiving stolen property, and was held in the Indiana County Jail on $250,000 bail. No injuries were reported in either shots-fired call; police said they did not believe the second Seventh and Locust Street report posed any danger to the community.",
    "casualties": {
      "killed": 0,
      "injured": 0
    }
  },
  "alerts": [
    {
      "sequence": 1,
      "type": "initial",
      "timestamp": "2026-03-21T22:14:00-04:00",
      "channel": "sms",
      "verbatimText": "Report of shots fired at 10:00 p.m. on March 21 at 8th and School Street. No injuries reported. Police are on the scene. Please avoid the area and remain in a secure location. Update: 11:56 p.m., subject is in police custody.",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceDescription": "IUP University Police Crime Alerts — March 21, 2026 Incidents",
      "annotations": [
        "Official IUP Crime Alerts page text for the 8th and School Street shots-fired report including the 11:56 p.m. custody update.",
        "Sent via Everbridge around 10:14 PM EDT per contemporaneous news; official archive page posts the combined incident summary."
      ],
      "characterCount": 225,
      "sourceUrl": "https://www.iup.edu/police/crimealerts/index.html"
    },
    {
      "sequence": 2,
      "type": "update",
      "timestamp": "2026-03-21T23:23:00-04:00",
      "channel": "sms",
      "verbatimText": "An additional report of shots fired at 11:15 p.m. on March 21 on Seventh and Locust Street. Police are on the scene. Please avoid the area and remain in a secure location.",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://www.iup.edu/police/crimealerts/index.html",
      "sourceDescription": "IUP University Police Crime Alerts official page: verbatim text of the March 21, 2026 Seventh and Locust Street shots-fired report, confirmed across multiple news sources quoting the alert",
      "annotations": [
        "Verbatim text confirmed from the IUP University Police Crime Alerts official page and quoted consistently across multiple news outlets including WPXI, CBS Pittsburgh, The Penn, and the Indiana Gazette.",
        "IUP's Everbridge system pushed this alert at approximately 11:23 PM EDT on March 21, 2026; the alert text itself references the 11:15 PM EDT report time of the Seventh and Locust Street call.",
        "In a later update at 12:31 a.m. EDT on March 22, 2026, police said they did not believe the Seventh and Locust Street report posed any danger to the community; no injuries or arrests resulted from it."
      ],
      "characterCount": 171
    },
    {
      "sequence": 3,
      "type": "update",
      "timestamp": "2026-03-22T00:31:00-04:00",
      "channel": "sms",
      "verbatimText": "Update: 12:31 a.m., March 22, Police do not believe there is any danger to the community related to the report of shots fired at 11:15 p.m. on Seventh and Locust Street.",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://www.iup.edu/police/crimealerts/index.html",
      "sourceDescription": "IUP University Police Crime Alerts official page: verbatim text of the 12:31 a.m. March 22 update clearing the Seventh and Locust shots-fired report, confirmed across multiple news sources",
      "annotations": [
        "Verbatim text confirmed from the IUP University Police Crime Alerts official page and quoted consistently across WPXI, CBS Pittsburgh, and the Indiana Gazette.",
        "This update clears the Seventh and Locust report as a non-threat but does not announce the arrest of Tymere Johnson; the arrest information was communicated separately through IUP's Everbridge email to the community.",
        "Timestamp is 12:31 a.m. EDT on March 22, 2026 EDT, approximately 76 minutes after the 11:15 p.m. EDT Seventh and Locust report and approximately 2.5 hours after the initial 10:00 p.m. EDT shots-fired report."
      ],
      "characterCount": 169
    }
  ],
  "context": "On the night of Saturday, March 21, 2026, [Indiana University of Pennsylvania](https://www.iup.edu/police/crimealerts/index.html), a member of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) with roughly 8,400 students, held its weekend-long unsanctioned IUPatty's celebration, an annual student St. Patrick's Day event that has produced repeated public-safety incidents over the past decade. At approximately [10:00 PM EDT](https://www.tribdem.com/news/local_news/police-one-taken-into-custody-after-shots-fired-on-iupattys-weekend-in-indiana/article_f04a1311-cb3f-4262-bfb8-9e091a22ea9f.html), police say Tymere Johnson, 22, of Clairton, Pennsylvania, fired five shots into the air at the intersection of 8th and School Street, immediately adjacent to campus. IUP's [Everbridge alerting platform](https://www.thepenn.org/news/multiple-gunfire-reports-large-crowds-define-iupatty-s-2026/article_273ef170-f9ee-42dd-b6e9-6f95df84c21c.html) pushed its first shots-fired alert at 10:14 PM EDT, a 14-minute alert latency that is competitive for an off-hours weekend incident. A [second alert at 11:23 PM EDT](https://www.cbsnews.com/pittsburgh/news/shots-fired-near-iup-iupattys-celebration/) reported additional shots fired at 7th and Locust Street; police later said they did not believe that report posed any danger to the community. At approximately 11:56 PM EDT, an Everbridge message announced Johnson's arrest during a Pennsylvania State Police traffic stop, and a separate update at 12:31 AM EDT on March 22 addressed the Seventh and Locust Street report. Johnson was charged with receiving stolen property, carrying a firearm without a license, and being a person not to possess a firearm. The case tested IUP's Everbridge platform during a high-volume weekend event with large crowds of partiers, a different challenge than the typical academic-day alert.",
  "keyFindings": [
    "IUP's first Everbridge alert went out at 10:14 PM EDT, 14 minutes after the 10:00 PM EDT shots-fired call, a competitive latency for a weekend off-hours event",
    "The second alert at 11:23 PM EDT reported shots fired at 7th and Locust Street that police could not substantiate, later saying they did not believe it posed any danger to the community, raising questions about call verification during IUPatty's high-call-volume nights",
    "IUP sent the arrest announcement at approximately 11:56 PM EDT and, separately, a 12:31 AM EDT message stating police did not believe the Seventh and Locust Street report posed any danger to the community",
    "Tymere Johnson, 22, of Clairton, was charged with receiving stolen property, carrying a firearm without a license, and being a person not to possess a firearm",
    "No injuries occurred despite five shots fired into the air at an intersection adjacent to campus during a high-density crowd event"
  ],
  "responseTimeMinutes": 14,
  "sources": [
    {
      "title": "Shots-fired incidents near IUP campus under investigation; one suspect arrested (CBS Pittsburgh)",
      "url": "https://www.cbsnews.com/pittsburgh/news/shots-fired-near-iup-iupattys-celebration/",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "Multiple gunfire reports, large crowds define IUPatty's 2026 (The Penn)",
      "url": "https://www.thepenn.org/news/multiple-gunfire-reports-large-crowds-define-iupatty-s-2026/article_273ef170-f9ee-42dd-b6e9-6f95df84c21c.html",
      "type": "student-newspaper"
    },
    {
      "title": "Police: One taken into custody after shots fired on IUPatty's weekend (Tribune-Democrat)",
      "url": "https://www.tribdem.com/news/local_news/police-one-taken-into-custody-after-shots-fired-on-iupattys-weekend-in-indiana/article_f04a1311-cb3f-4262-bfb8-9e091a22ea9f.html",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "Clairton man in custody after shots fired report near IUP's campus (WPXI)",
      "url": "https://www.wpxi.com/news/local/person-custody-after-shots-fired-reports-near-iups-campus/SP7PELD5OBGTJMBQCXCQ6W3GFQ/",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "Shots fired (and arrest made) overshadow a busy final 24 hours of IUPatty's weekend (Indiana Gazette)",
      "url": "https://www.indianagazette.com/news/iup_news/shots-fired-and-arrest-made-overshadow-a-busy-final-24-hours-of-iupattys-weekend/article_7e99b003-a765-4704-8d4b-5f6071c50bd6.html",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "Crime Alerts (IUP University Police)",
      "url": "https://www.iup.edu/police/crimealerts/index.html",
      "type": "official-archive"
    }
  ],
  "confidence": "high",
  "tags": [
    "shots-fired",
    "iupatty",
    "indiana-university-pennsylvania",
    "passhe",
    "pennsylvania",
    "public-r2",
    "everbridge",
    "weekend-incident",
    "unsanctioned-celebration",
    "st-patricks-day",
    "stolen-firearm"
  ],
  "dateAdded": "2026-05-13",
  "lastUpdated": "2026-07-19",
  "addedBy": "ingestion"
}