{
  "id": "2025-04-17-radford-university-secure-in-place-shooting",
  "slug": "radford-university-secure-in-place-shooting-2025-04-17",
  "institution": {
    "name": "Radford University",
    "shortName": "Radford",
    "state": "VA",
    "type": "public-masters",
    "alertSystemName": "Radford Alert",
    "enrollment": 8800
  },
  "incident": {
    "date": "2025-04-17",
    "type": "shooting",
    "cleryCategory": "emergency-notification",
    "resolution": "confirmed-threat",
    "headline": "Off-campus shooting wounds two people; 'SECURE-IN-PLACE' order issued",
    "headlinePublic": "Off-campus shooting wounds two people; 'SECURE-IN-PLACE' order issued",
    "summary": "On the afternoon of April 17, 2025, Radford City Police notified Radford University that a [shooting had occurred just off campus on the 1100 block of Main Street](https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2025/04/17/radford-university-under-secure-in-place-after-city-reports-shooting-near-campus/). At 3:26 p.m. EDT, [Radford Alert issued a SECURE-IN-PLACE order via X](https://x.com/radfordu/status/1912950809257754683) telling students to avoid the area. Two people were struck by gunfire; the all-clear was given at 5:10 p.m. EDT",
    "outcome": "Two victims were treated for gunshot wounds. Police determined the shooting was an isolated incident with no ongoing threat to campus. Multiple suspects were later arrested and charged.",
    "casualties": {
      "killed": 0,
      "injured": 2
    }
  },
  "alerts": [
    {
      "sequence": 1,
      "type": "initial",
      "timestamp": "2025-04-17T15:26:00-04:00",
      "channel": "twitter-x",
      "verbatimText": "Radford Alert! Main Campus. Urgent: SECURE-IN-PLACE. City reports shooting occurred at 1400 block of East Main. Avoid area. Police on scene. More info to follow",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://x.com/radfordu/status/1912950809257754683",
      "sourceDescription": "Radford University official X (Twitter) account",
      "annotations": [
        "Verbatim from Radford University's official X account at 3:26 p.m. EDT, approximately 23 minutes after the off-campus shooting at about 3:03 p.m. EDT",
        "The alert reported the shooting at the '1400 block of East Main' but later reporting clarified the actual location was the 1100 block of Main Street, a small but notable initial-alert location error",
        "The use of the 'SECURE-IN-PLACE' label rather than 'shelter-in-place' is Radford's distinctive terminology, it asks people indoors to remain inside but does not require lockdown or barricading"
      ],
      "characterCount": 160
    },
    {
      "sequence": 2,
      "type": "all-clear",
      "channel": "twitter-x",
      "verbatimText": "Radford Alert! Main Campus. Urgent. ALL CLEAR. Per City PD, this was an isolated incident. No ongoing public safety threat to the campus community. For more information visit http://radford.edu.",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceDescription": "@radfordu on X (verbatim)",
      "annotations": [
        "There was also a mid-event update (status/1912959033209921868) telling the community to continue Secure-in-Place",
        "Corrected to exact fxtwitter display text."
      ],
      "characterCount": 194,
      "timestamp": "2025-04-17T17:07:52-04:00",
      "sourceUrl": "https://x.com/radfordu/status/1912976327650709903"
    }
  ],
  "context": "On Thursday afternoon, April 17, 2025, [Radford City Police were dispatched at approximately 3:03 p.m. EDT](https://www.wdbj7.com/2025/04/17/shooting-near-radford-university-prompts-campus-alert/) to a shooting in the 1100 block of Main Street, just off Radford University's main campus. As a precaution, Radford University Police issued a [Radford Alert at 3:26 p.m. EDT](https://x.com/radfordu/status/1912950809257754683) declaring SECURE-IN-PLACE and posted the alert to its official X account. Two victims were transported for treatment of gunshot wounds. The university's [official statement](https://www.radford.edu/police/april-17-2025.html) noted the precautionary nature of the shelter order and confirmed the shooting was off-campus. The all-clear came at approximately 5:10 p.m. EDT, when police determined the incident was [isolated with no broader threat](https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2025/04/17/radford-university-under-secure-in-place-after-city-reports-shooting-near-campus/). Two additional suspects were later charged in connection with the shooting. The incident illustrates Radford's reliance on the broader Radford City Police Department for off-campus crime response, and the SECURE-IN-PLACE label that distinguishes Radford's protocol from full lockdown.",
  "keyFindings": [
    "Radford's distinctive 'SECURE-IN-PLACE' terminology asks people to remain indoors but stops short of the more restrictive 'shelter-in-place' lockdown, a calibrated middle option for off-campus threats",
    "The initial alert mislocated the shooting at the '1400 block of East Main' instead of the actual 1100 block of Main Street, a reminder that incident-relayed information from city dispatch can carry forward errors",
    "Radford's reliance on X as a primary alert channel reflects its smaller scale; some peer institutions have moved away from social media as a primary delivery channel due to platform reliability concerns"
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "title": "Radford University Issues Secure-in-Place Notification (Radford University Police)",
      "url": "https://www.radford.edu/police/april-17-2025.html",
      "type": "official-archive"
    },
    {
      "title": "Radford University on X (Initial Alert)",
      "url": "https://x.com/radfordu/status/1912950809257754683",
      "type": "official-social"
    },
    {
      "title": "Two hurt in shooting near Radford University (WDBJ)",
      "url": "https://www.wdbj7.com/2025/04/17/shooting-near-radford-university-prompts-campus-alert/",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "Radford University under secure-in-place after city reports shooting near campus (WSLS)",
      "url": "https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2025/04/17/radford-university-under-secure-in-place-after-city-reports-shooting-near-campus/",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "@radfordu X — ALL CLEAR Secure-in-Place",
      "url": "https://x.com/radfordu/status/1912976327650709903",
      "type": "social-media"
    }
  ],
  "confidence": "high",
  "tags": [
    "shooting",
    "off-campus",
    "secure-in-place",
    "virginia",
    "public-university",
    "shelter-in-place",
    "twitter-x",
    "radford-alert"
  ],
  "responseTimeMinutes": 23,
  "dateAdded": "2026-05-03",
  "lastUpdated": "2026-07-18",
  "addedBy": "ingestion"
}