{
  "id": "2023-02-24-lafayette-college-shots-fired-lockdown",
  "slug": "lafayette-college-shots-fired-lockdown-2023-02-24",
  "institution": {
    "name": "Lafayette College",
    "shortName": "Lafayette",
    "state": "PA",
    "type": "private-liberal-arts",
    "alertSystemName": "LafayetteAlert",
    "enrollment": 2700
  },
  "incident": {
    "date": "2023-02-24",
    "type": "shooting",
    "cleryCategory": "emergency-notification",
    "resolution": "confirmed-threat",
    "headline": "Gunfire just off campus wounded one person; campus locked down during the search",
    "headlinePublic": "Gunfire just off campus wounded one person; campus locked down during the search",
    "summary": "On the evening of February 24, 2023, [Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania placed its hilltop campus on lockdown](https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/lafayette-college-on-lockdown-after-reports-of-shots-fired/3508366/) after Easton police reported shots fired near Pearl Street, just down College Hill from campus. A woman was struck and wounded, and the suspect was last seen in a red sweatshirt running east along [Bushkill Creek](https://www.wfmz.com/news/area/lehighvalley/lafayette-college-in-easton-lifts-lockdown-police-say-person-who-may-have-fired-shots-fled/article_046d4cf2-b49c-11ed-95db-57c5c1bdc76d.html), away from the campus core.",
    "outcome": "Lockdown lifted after police determined the suspect had fled away from campus and posed no continuing threat to students. A woman was shot in Easton; a person was eventually taken into custody.",
    "casualties": {
      "killed": 0,
      "injured": 1
    }
  },
  "alerts": [
    {
      "sequence": 1,
      "type": "initial",
      "timestampApprox": "Approximately 8:30 PM EST on February 24, 2023",
      "channel": "sms",
      "verbatimText": "Campus Lockdown :: Reports of shots fired near Pearl Street in Easton. Suspect last seen red sweatshirt headed East along bushkill creek.",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://www.wfmz.com/news/area/lehighvalley/lafayette-college-in-easton-lifts-lockdown-police-say-person-who-may-have-fired-shots-fled/article_046d4cf2-b49c-11ed-95db-57c5c1bdc76d.html",
      "sourceDescription": "WFMZ-TV (Lehigh Valley) live coverage quoting verbatim LafCol Public Safety (@LafayetteDPS) post",
      "annotations": [
        "Verbatim text posted by LafCol Public Safety (@LafayetteDPS) on the evening of Friday, February 24, 2023 and quoted by WFMZ and NBC10 Philadelphia in real time",
        "The shorthand 'Campus Lockdown::' double-colon delimiter is preserved verbatim, a characteristic Lafayette Public Safety formatting pattern on social media alerts",
        "Lowercase 'bushkill creek' is preserved verbatim from the original alert",
        "Pearl Street is at the base of College Hill, blocks from the Lafayette campus core"
      ],
      "characterCount": 137
    },
    {
      "sequence": 2,
      "type": "all-clear",
      "timestampApprox": "Approximately 10:00 PM EST on February 24, 2023",
      "channel": "sms",
      "verbatimText": "Lockdown Lifted :: EPD believes suspect fled away from campus. Investigation continuing",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://www.wfmz.com/news/area/lehighvalley/lafayette-college-in-easton-lifts-lockdown-police-say-person-who-may-have-fired-shots-fled/article_046d4cf2-b49c-11ed-95db-57c5c1bdc76d.html",
      "sourceDescription": "WFMZ-TV (Lehigh Valley) live coverage quoting verbatim LafCol Public Safety (@LafayetteDPS) post",
      "annotations": [
        "Verbatim text posted by LafCol Public Safety (@LafayetteDPS) lifting the lockdown, note 'EPD' (Easton Police Department) abbreviation preserved verbatim",
        "Same 'Lockdown Lifted::' double-colon delimiter style as the initial 'Campus Lockdown::' alert, a consistent Lafayette Public Safety formatting pattern",
        "Easton Police told WFMZ the suspect was last seen running east along Bushkill Creek, away from campus, prompting the lift",
        "No injuries to Lafayette students were reported"
      ],
      "characterCount": 87
    }
  ],
  "context": "[Lafayette College sits on a hill above downtown Easton, Pennsylvania](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lafayette_College), at the confluence of the Delaware and Lehigh rivers. On the evening of Friday, February 24, 2023, Easton Police received a report of [shots fired near Pearl Street](https://www.wfmz.com/news/area/lehighvalley/lafayette-college-in-easton-lifts-lockdown-police-say-person-who-may-have-fired-shots-fled/article_046d4cf2-b49c-11ed-95db-57c5c1bdc76d.html) at the foot of College Hill. A woman was wounded, and the suspect, described as wearing a red sweatshirt, was last seen running east along Bushkill Creek, away from the campus. Lafayette's Department of Public Safety placed the campus on lockdown via [LafayetteAlert](https://publicsafety.lafayette.edu/lockdown/) and instructed students to shelter in place. Easton Police searched along the Delaware River for the shooter while officers swept the campus. The lockdown was lifted later that night after [NBC10 Philadelphia](https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/lafayette-college-on-lockdown-after-reports-of-shots-fired/3508366/) confirmed police believed the suspect had fled away from Lafayette.",
  "keyFindings": [
    "Demonstrated how off-campus violence at the foot of College Hill can drive a campus lockdown even when no shots were fired on Lafayette property",
    "Suspect direction of travel (east along Bushkill Creek, away from campus) was the key fact that allowed Easton Police and Lafayette Public Safety to lift the lockdown within roughly 90 minutes"
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "title": "Lafayette College Lifts Lockdown After Reports of Shots Fired (NBC10 Philadelphia)",
      "url": "https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/lafayette-college-on-lockdown-after-reports-of-shots-fired/3508366/",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "Lafayette College in Easton lifts lockdown, police say person who may have fired shots fled away from campus (WFMZ-TV)",
      "url": "https://www.wfmz.com/news/area/lehighvalley/lafayette-college-in-easton-lifts-lockdown-police-say-person-who-may-have-fired-shots-fled/article_046d4cf2-b49c-11ed-95db-57c5c1bdc76d.html",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "Manhunt for active shooter with Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania locked down (Euro Weekly News)",
      "url": "https://euroweeklynews.com/2023/02/25/breaking-manhunt-for-active-shooter-with-lafayette-college-in-easton-pennsylvania-locked-down/",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "Lockdown procedures (Lafayette College Public Safety)",
      "url": "https://publicsafety.lafayette.edu/lockdown/",
      "type": "official-archive"
    }
  ],
  "confidence": "high",
  "tags": [
    "shooting",
    "shots-fired",
    "lockdown",
    "off-campus",
    "easton",
    "pennsylvania",
    "private-liberal-arts",
    "college-hill",
    "bushkill-creek",
    "verbatim-confirmed"
  ],
  "dateAdded": "2026-05-03",
  "lastUpdated": "2026-07-16",
  "addedBy": "ingestion"
}