By: Emma Manhire and Emma Rasmussen

WARNING THIS CONTENT CAN BE TRIGGERING TO SOME, AS IT CONTAINS INFORMATION ABOUT A POSSIBLE ACTIVE SHOOTER THREAT ON CAMPUS. 

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (UATV) — The University of Arkansas released the first call University Police received warning of a potential active shooter on campus.

The call begins with the caller stating they were at David W. Mullins Library and saw a man with a rifle.

The caller claimed they saw the shooter outside the main entrance and told the dispatcher that they were hiding under a desk on the second floor. 

The caller proceeded to give a description of the shooter, describing a man with long black hair, wearing a white shirt and gray pants, standing six feet tall.  

In the background of the call, you can hear what sounds like gunshots. 

“He’s walking to the library right now *gun shots*, he just shot, he just shot…” claimed the caller. 

The dispatcher continuously asked the person to stay on the line with her and to stay hiding under the desk.

The caller continued to describe what they were seeing and hearing. 

“I think he’s on the second floor *heavy panting* *gun shots*, my phone’s about to die,” is the last thing the caller said before the call ends. 

According to University of Arkansas Police (UPAD), the call was received around 12:30 p.m. on Monday August 25. Alerts were immediately sent out to students advising them to “Avoid, Deny and Defend”. 

Before UAPD and other responding agencies could clear the scene, they had received a total of 308 landline calls and 38 calls to 911. The calls reported that there was possible active shooter activity across seven different buildings on campus. 

A couple of hours later, officers were able to clear out the buildings floor by floor, evacuating students and faculty. According to UAPD, after everything was cleared, they were able to open the buildings. At this point in time, there were no confirmed gun shots or injuries. 

In a press conference later on Monday, Assistant Chief Matt Mills told the press “they are starting to look into where the calls came from” and that they are trying to trace the calls. The person or group responsible for the call have not yet been identified. 

“It’s looking as if this was another ‘swatting’ or hoax call,” Mills said in the press conference. 

This incident comes nearly to the day of the 25th anniversary of the Kimpel Hall shooting, which took place August 28th, 2000. A professor was shot and killed by a student who then took his own life.