{ "id": "2025-04-17-lehigh-university-projectiles-from-vehicle", "slug": "lehigh-university-projectiles-from-vehicle-2025-04-17", "institution": { "name": "Lehigh University", "shortName": "Lehigh", "state": "PA", "type": "private-r1", "alertSystemName": "HawkWatch", "enrollment": 7800 }, "incident": { "date": "2025-04-17", "type": "assault", "cleryCategory": "timely-warning", "resolution": "confirmed-threat", "headline": "Assault, April 17, 2025", "summary": "On the evening of April 17, 2025, [two Lehigh University community members reported](https://thebrownandwhite.com/2025/04/17/projectiles-discharged-from-vehicle-near-campus/) being struck by projectiles (believed to be from a BB or Airsoft gun) fired from a moving red four-door pickup truck around 8:40 PM EDT near Fritz Laboratory on the south Bethlehem campus. LUPD issued a [HawkWatch timely warning at 8:51 PM EDT](https://police.lehigh.edu/content/hawkwatch-alert-log) (11 minutes after the incident) describing the vehicle's direction of travel (north on Taylor Street, west on Packer Avenue). Follow-up alerts in the days that followed identified the vehicle's model and license plate and confirmed suspects in custody.", "outcome": "Two community members were struck by projectiles; injuries were non-life-threatening. The Lehigh University Police Department, in coordination with Bethlehem Police, identified the vehicle and made arrests. Lehigh's HawkWatch follow-up confirmed the suspect vehicle's model and license plate. No serious injuries were reported.", "casualties": { "killed": 0, "injured": 2 } }, "alerts": [ { "sequence": 1, "type": "initial", "timestamp": "2025-04-17T20:51:21-04:00", "timestampApprox": "8:51 PM EDT on April 17, 2025", "channel": "email", "verbatimText": "Lehigh University has issued a Timely Warning regarding Projectiles Discharged from a Vehicle and is being distributed to students, faculty and staff due to a Clery Act reportable crime occurring on or in close proximity to campus.\n\nAt approximately 8:40 PM on Thursday, April 17, 2025, Lehigh Police received two reports of some type of projectile striking them. The projectile is possibly a BB gun or an Airsoft. The projectiles were discharged from a 4-door red pickup truck. The truck was last seen driving north on Taylor Street and west on Packer Avenue in the area of Fritz Lab.\n\nAnyone with information about this vehicle is being asked to call Lehgih Police at 610.758.4200.", "isVerbatimConfirmed": true, "sourceDescription": "Lehigh HawkWatch CAP — Projectiles Discharged from a Vehicle", "annotations": [ "Issued 11 minutes after the 8:40 PM EDT incident, within the federal Clery Act timely-warning window and ahead of national medians for similar incidents", "Fritz Laboratory is Lehigh's mid-campus civil-engineering structural-testing facility, a familiar landmark to all engineering students; including it in the alert text aided rapid geographic comprehension", "The LUPD 610-758-4200 number is the published non-emergency dispatch line for Lehigh University Police" ], "characterCount": 683, "sourceUrl": "https://lehigh.apparmor.com/Notifications/CAP/default.aspx?id=177221&t=475134631" }, { "sequence": 2, "type": "update", "timestampApprox": "Within 24–48 hours after the incident (April 18–19, 2025)", "channel": "email", "verbatimText": "Lehigh University has issued a Timely Warning regarding Projectiles Discharged from a Vehicle and is being distributed to students, faculty, and staff due to a Clery Act reportable crime occurring on or in close proximity to campus.\n\nLehigh University Police have received multiple reports of students struck by projectiles that were discharged from a vehicle. The incidents reported to Lehigh Police all occurred at around 8:30 to 8:45 PM. There does not appear to be an ongoing threat to campus.\n\nThe vehicle has been identified through CCTV and license plate cameras as a red Dodge Dakota pickup truck, bearing PA registration plate ZYD-3249. The projectiles were being discharged by a front passenger.\n\nLehigh Police are working with surrounding police agencies to identify the person(s) responsible. Anyone with information about these incidents is asked to call 610.758.4200.", "isVerbatimConfirmed": true, "sourceDescription": "Lehigh HawkWatch CAP — UPDATE Projectiles Discharged from a Vehicle", "annotations": [ "Lehigh's follow-up alert pattern (initial timely warning, then a 'suspects identified' message) is consistent with Patriot League peer schools and reflects best-practice Clery Act communication", "The inclusion of UCPS (University Counseling and Psychological Services) is standard Lehigh HawkWatch post-incident boilerplate", "The release of license-plate detail in a follow-up but not in the initial alert reflects standard police-investigative practice of not tipping off suspects while initial sweeps are active" ], "characterCount": 881, "sourceUrl": "https://lehigh.apparmor.com/Notifications/CAP/default.aspx?id=177224&t=475231781", "timestamp": "2025-04-17T21:36:42-04:00" }, { "sequence": 3, "type": "all-clear", "channel": "email", "verbatimText": "Lehigh University is issuing a Timely Warning UPDATE. All suspects from the previously reported assaults are in custody. Lehigh University Police have located and arrested the suspects involved in the assaults. There is no further danger to the community.\n\nWe want to thank the members of the Lehigh community for acting quickly, contacting police, and providing actionable descriptions that led to the identification, location, and arrest of the suspects.\n\nThis update to the Timely Warning is being distributed to students, faculty, and staff due to a Clery Act reportable crime occurring on or in close proximity to campus.", "isVerbatimConfirmed": true, "sourceUrl": "https://lehigh.apparmor.com/Notifications/CAP/default.aspx?id=177234&t=475329982", "sourceDescription": "Lehigh HawkWatch CAP — ALL CLEAR: Suspects in custody", "timestamp": "2025-04-18T00:20:07-04:00", "characterCount": 626, "annotations": [ "ALL CLEAR CAP message: suspects in custody; no further danger to the community" ] } ], "context": "Lehigh University is a [private R1 research university of about 7,800 students](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lehigh_University) in south Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, on the steep slope known as South Mountain. On the evening of April 17, 2025, at approximately 8:40 PM EDT, two Lehigh community members were struck by projectiles fired from a moving red four-door pickup truck near [Fritz Laboratory](https://thebrownandwhite.com/2025/04/17/projectiles-discharged-from-vehicle-near-campus/), the university's century-old structural-engineering testing building. The projectiles were believed to be from a BB or Airsoft gun. LUPD issued a [HawkWatch timely warning](https://police.lehigh.edu/content/hawkwatch-alert-log) at 8:51 PM EDT (11 minutes after the incident) describing the vehicle and its direction of travel. The Brown and White, [Lehigh's student newspaper](https://thebrownandwhite.com/), reported that subsequent email alerts identified the vehicle's model and license plate and confirmed suspects had been taken into custody. The incident was one of three high-profile HawkWatch alerts at Lehigh during 2025, the [January 30 active-shooter swatting](https://news.lehigh.edu/follow-up-from-false-active-shooter-incident) and the [September 11 racially targeted email hoax](https://thebrownandwhite.com/2025/09/11/lehigh-receives-email-with-racially-targeted-threat-proven-to-be-a-hoax/) bookended this April incident.", "keyFindings": [ "An 11-minute initial-alert response time (from 8:40 PM incident to 8:51 PM alert) places Lehigh among the faster Patriot League peers on real-incident timely-warning compliance", "The specific vehicle description (red four-door pickup) and direction-of-travel detail (north on Taylor, west on Packer) in the initial alert exemplifies actionable Clery-style alert design", "Lehigh used follow-up emails to release tactical investigative detail (license plate, vehicle model) only after the immediate sweep had concluded, a balance between transparency and operational security", "Three high-profile HawkWatch alerts in 2025 (January swatting, April projectiles, September racial-threat hoax) marked an unusual concentration of incidents at one Patriot League institution" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Lehigh HawkWatch CAP — ALL CLEAR: Suspects in custody", "url": "https://lehigh.apparmor.com/Notifications/CAP/default.aspx?id=177234&t=475329982", "type": "official-archive" }, { "title": "Lehigh HawkWatch CAP — UPDATE Projectiles Discharged from a Vehicle", "url": "https://lehigh.apparmor.com/Notifications/CAP/default.aspx?id=177224&t=475231781", "type": "official-archive" }, { "title": "Lehigh HawkWatch CAP — Projectiles Discharged from a Vehicle", "url": "https://lehigh.apparmor.com/Notifications/CAP/default.aspx?id=177221&t=475134631", "type": "official-archive" }, { "title": "Projectiles discharged from moving vehicle near campus, timely warning issued (The Brown and White)", "url": "https://thebrownandwhite.com/2025/04/17/projectiles-discharged-from-vehicle-near-campus/", "type": "student-newspaper" }, { "title": "HawkWatch Alert Log (Lehigh University Police Department)", "url": "https://police.lehigh.edu/content/hawkwatch-alert-log", "type": "official-archive" }, { "title": "Clery Act Timely Warnings and Emergency Notifications (Lehigh Campus Safety Division)", "url": "https://campussafety.lehigh.edu/police/clery-act-information-statistics/clery-act-timely-warnings-and-emergency-notifications", "type": "official-archive" }, { "title": "Lehigh University (Wikipedia)", "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lehigh_University", "type": "wikipedia" } ], "confidence": "high", "tags": [ "drive-by", "bb-gun", "timely-warning", "patriot-league", "private-r1", "pennsylvania", "bethlehem", "hawkwatch", "rapid-response" ], "dateAdded": "2026-05-14", "lastUpdated": "2026-07-17", "addedBy": "ingestion", "responseTimeMinutes": 11 }