At 11:32 a.m., a notification was sent via CapAlert, the university’s emergency messaging system, that Battelle Hall was on lockdown.
The alert read, “THE BATTELLE HALL at MAIN CAMPUS is on lockdown. Avoid hallways; lock doors, classrooms, offices. Stay in [the] building and avoid the area.”
At 11:40 a.m., another CapAlert was sent with an updated status of the lockdown.
The alert read,”Update on LOCKDOWN. Suspect Black Male in grey hoodie, black pants, ran from police in a shoplifting incident into Battelle. Police are searching.”
According to Scott Kunkle, chief of the university’s Public Safety, Bexley PD was in pursuit of a man they believed had shoplifted from the Giant Eagle at 2250 E. Main St.
Kunkle said, “[He] fled from Bexley Police, ran into Battelle Hall, was hiding in the second floor women’s bathroom. We located him and placed him under arrest.”
During and immediately following the incident, there was a heightened police presence on campus, which included officers of the Bexley Police Department and campus Public Safety.
Because of the unknown status of the offender, students who had class in Battelle Hall during the lockdown, barricaded the doors using chairs and tables.
Kunkle said, “He [the suspect] was unarmed,” and could not provide additional information about what the suspect had allegedly stolen.
The last CapAlert sent to students read, “All Clear. [P]erson has been apprehended. Resume normal activities.”
According to the university’s website regarding academic building lockdowns, “Once the crisis has concluded, the Director of Public Safety will communicate to officers the termination of the lockdown.”
Additionally, after the lockdown is terminated, officers will communicate with the affected buildings and a message would be “transmitted using the REACT software and MIR 3 messaging systems.”
