Officers from the Office of Public Safety and Emergency Management decided there was no immediate threat to the Ithaca College campus community following a report of a suspicious person near Boothroyd Hall at approximately 6 p.m. Sept. 6, Tom Dunn, associate director of Public Safety, said.

Following the report, two Tompkins County Sheriff’s Office vehicles were dispatched to the campus near Boothroyd Hall. The Tompkins County Sheriff’s Office said two state police vehicles and Public Safety vehicles arrived on the scene as well. Public Safety officers interviewed several people on the scene in response to the report, Dunn said. 

Dunn said there was no reason to believe this person was related to the Green Street shooting Sept. 4. Andrae Martin, a suspect in the shooting, has not been apprehended. Dave Maley, director of public relations, said the college would have called the Tompkins County Police Department and state police regardless of the Green Street shooting occurring. Maley said the initial call gave them no indication that it could be related. 

Public Safety was able to deem the community not in danger based on its interviews and from reviewing video footage from the scene, Dunn said. No one was judicially referred, Dunn said.

Because Public Safety was aware of misleading rumors regarding the incident, Dunn said the college’s Emergency Communication team sent out an email to clarify important details and dispel the rumors. The email was sent at 8:24 p.m., approximately two and a half hours after the initial report. 

The email, released via Intercom, reported a suspicious individual walking near the Upper Quad residence halls. The email also notified students of an increased Public Safety patrol presence for that night. The suspicious person was described as a white, college-aged male wearing a green plaid shirt and blue jeans.

Although resident assistants were advised to keep their residents inside their respective dorm rooms, Dunn said the campus was never in a shelter-in-place condition. Dunn said the campus would have been notified through the Emergency Notification System if there was an imminent danger to the community. 

RAs also received an email from Marsha Dawson, director of the Office of Residential Life and the Office of Judicial Affairs. This email clarified that there was suspicious activity on campus, but there was no immediate threat to the community. The email notified RAs of increased Public Safety presence and listed information for students to call for the Center for Counseling and Psychological Services after-hours services.