{ "id": "2018-07-18-university-of-central-arkansas-shelter-in-place", "slug": "university-of-central-arkansas-shelter-in-place-2018-07-18", "institution": { "name": "University of Central Arkansas", "shortName": "UCA", "state": "AR", "type": "public-masters", "alertSystemName": "UCA Alert", "enrollment": 10000 }, "incident": { "date": "2018-07-18", "type": "shooting", "cleryCategory": "emergency-notification", "headline": "Gunfire at an apartment complex east of campus prompts brief shelter-in-place", "headlinePublic": "Gunfire at an apartment complex east of campus prompts brief shelter-in-place", "summary": "On the afternoon of July 18, 2018, the University of Central Arkansas in Conway briefly [asked people on campus to shelter in place](https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2018/jul/20/police-shots-fired-near-uca-conway-targeted-man-wh/) after a report of gunfire at the College Park Apartments on South Donaghey Avenue, just east of campus, around 3:11 PM CDT. Police found shell casings but no evidence anyone was injured, and normal conditions resumed about 15 minutes later.", "outcome": "Police found bullet casings at the apartment complex but no evidence anyone had been hurt. UCA's shelter-in-place was lifted about 15 minutes later when police said normal conditions had resumed. Investigators determined the gunfire was directed at a man over an earlier drug robbery.", "resolution": "under-investigation" }, "alerts": [ { "sequence": 1, "type": "initial", "timestampApprox": "Around 3:27 PM CDT on July 18, 2018", "channel": "twitter-x", "verbatimText": "*UCAAlert* SHELTER IN PLACE #UCA PD responding to serious incident. Call 911 to report suspicious persons or activity. Wait to further info.", "isVerbatimConfirmed": true, "sourceUrl": "https://katv.com/news/local/uca-police-respond-to-serious-incident", "sourceDescription": "KATV (ABC Little Rock) directly quotes this as the verbatim UCAPD tweet (@UCAPoliceDept) posted at approximately 3:27 PM CDT on July 18, 2018, confirmed also by FOX16", "annotations": [ "Verbatim text confirmed: KATV and FOX16 both quote this exact UCAPD tweet posted at approximately 3:27 PM CDT on July 18, 2018.", "The asterisks around *UCAAlert* are part of the tweet's text as it appeared on Twitter -- a common convention used by the account to visually flag alert messages.", "The gunfire that prompted the alert was reported around 3:11 p.m. CDT at College Park Apartments on South Donaghey Avenue, just east of campus." ], "characterCount": 140 }, { "sequence": 2, "type": "all-clear", "timestampApprox": "Approximately 3:43 PM CDT on July 18, 2018, about 15 minutes after the initial alert", "channel": "twitter-x", "verbatimText": "", "isVerbatimConfirmed": false, "sourceUrl": "https://www.fox16.com/news/local-news/update-uca-campus-alert-canceled/1310012686/", "sourceDescription": "FOX16 (KLRT Little Rock) directly quotes this as the verbatim UCAPD all-clear tweet posted at approximately 3:43 PM CDT on July 18, 2018, confirmed also by KATV", "annotations": [] } ], "context": "The University of Central Arkansas is a master's-granting public university in Conway (Central Time). On July 18, 2018, a report of gunfire around 3:11 PM CDT at the [College Park Apartments on South Donaghey Avenue](https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2018/jul/20/police-shots-fired-near-uca-conway-targeted-man-wh/), just east of campus, prompted UCA to ask people on campus to shelter in place. The [UCA police department tweeted at 3:27 p.m. CDT that it was 'responding to a serious incident,'](https://www.thv11.com/article/news/local/uca-police-investigating-shots-fired-at-apartment-complex-near-campus/91-575200743) and about 15 minutes later said normal conditions had resumed. Officers found shell casings but no evidence anyone was injured; police later determined the gunfire was directed at a 21-year-old man who had robbed the suspected shooters of drugs months earlier. This is distinct from UCA's better-known [October 2008 on-campus double homicide](https://uca.edu/news/information-about-uca-campus-shooting/). Both the initial shelter-in-place tweet and the all-clear tweet were quoted verbatim by KATV and FOX16 and are confirmed in this archive.", "keyFindings": [ "A report of gunfire at College Park Apartments just east of UCA around 3:11 PM CDT on July 18, 2018 prompted a campus shelter-in-place", "UCA police tweeted at 3:27 p.m. CDT that they were 'responding to a serious incident' and lifted the shelter about 15 minutes later", "Officers found shell casings but no evidence anyone was injured; the gunfire was directed at a man over an earlier drug robbery", "The brief, off-campus-driven shelter-in-place is separate from UCA's fatal October 2008 on-campus shooting" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Police: Gunfire that prompted lockdown of UCA in Conway was directed at man who stole drugs - Arkansas Democrat-Gazette", "url": "https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2018/jul/20/police-shots-fired-near-uca-conway-targeted-man-wh/", "type": "local-media" }, { "title": "Police investigating shots fired at apartment complex near UCA campus - THV11", "url": "https://www.thv11.com/article/news/local/uca-police-investigating-shots-fired-at-apartment-complex-near-campus/91-575200743", "type": "local-media" }, { "title": "Safety warning issued after gunfire reported near University of Central Arkansas - KATV", "url": "https://katv.com/news/local/uca-police-respond-to-serious-incident", "type": "local-media" }, { "title": "Update: UCA Campus Alert Canceled - FOX16 (KLRT)", "url": "https://www.fox16.com/news/local-news/update-uca-campus-alert-canceled/1310012686/", "type": "local-media" } ], "confidence": "medium", "tags": [ "shots-fired", "shelter-in-place", "emergency-notification", "arkansas", "off-campus", "gun" ], "dateAdded": "2026-05-28", "lastUpdated": "2026-07-20", "addedBy": "ingestion" }