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Shortly After Softball Game, 'Active Shooter' Reported on Oklahoma Campus; All Clear Issued

The No. 1-ranked Sooners had just finished a 6-0 victory over Texas Tech and had wrapped up media and other postgame obligations when the first alert was made.
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Shortly After Softball Game, 'Active Shooter' Reported on Oklahoma Campus; All Clear Issued
Shortly After Softball Game, 'Active Shooter' Reported on Oklahoma Campus; All Clear Issued

NORMAN — There were no players, coaches or staff from the Oklahoma or Texas Tech softball teams left in the facility on Friday night when a campus-wide "active shooter" alert was issued by the school.

The "active shooter" alert was issued at 9:24 p.m. by the OU Campus Safety Twitter feed.

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The official alert, issued via OU''s social media channels and the school's text messaging system, reported, "There is an active shooter at the Van Vleet Oval. Take immediate action now. Run. Hide. Fight!"

Campus was mostly quiet at the time, with the only real activity finishing up at the softball complex.

After the top-ranked Sooners dispatched Texas Tech in the second game of their three-game Big 12 Conference series — the game began at 6 p.m. and ended around 8:12 — coach Patty Gasso and pitcher Jordy Bahl stayed around for media interviews but were gone before 9 p.m.

At 9:15 p.m., several media members and support staffers were still in the press box finishing their postgame reports and the facility grounds crew and cleaning staff were on site at Marita Hynes Field, about a half-mile south of the Van Vleet Oval (one block west of Oklahoma Memorial Stadium), where the shooting was first reported.

Tension reigned over the next 100 minutes as the entire campus was locked down and hundreds of law enforcement officers in scores of emergency response vehicles surrounded the Bizzell Memorial Library, where gunshots had been reported, as well as the campus perimeter.

Sirens could be heard as police cars came down Lindsey Street on the east side of the complex, driving toward the heart of campus. 

The grounds crew quickly finished working on the infield as everyone in the complex became aware of the situation and the campus-wide alert. 

Anyone who knew of the alert quickly wrapped up their duties before shuffling out of the complex once it became apparent Marita Hynes Field wasn’t in any danger.

The OU Campus Safety Twitter feed posted at 10:54 p.m. that the situation was "all clear" and there was no danger.

"After a thorough search, no threat was found. There is no threat to campus. Alert has been cancelled," the school reported.

It's unclear why the alert was issued, and authorities were unable to provide immediate clarity on Friday night, although a rash of "active shooter" hoaxes has apparently has become common.

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