At 12:25 am Monday the Lawrence County Dispatch received an active shooter threat from a deactivated cell phone claiming a person was on or near the campus of Williams Baptist College. Immediately law enforcement from across the county was notified and responded to the area.
Walnut Ridge Police, Lawrence County Sheriff’s Deputies, Ravenden Police, Hoxie Police, Williams Baptist Campus Security, Lawrence County CID, Arkansas State Police Criminal Investigators and Arkansas State Police all converged on the campus. Intersections were sealed off in a joint effort to contain anyone possible involved. Campus Security stated that only a few student advisors were on the campus at this time of year. Contact was made with the few on campus and at 12:52 am they were led away from the campus and all dorms were said to be secure.
Officers made a search of all the remaining buildings and vehicles on campus, houses in what is called “the cove†behind the campus were also checked by officers, no suspicious activity was discovered. Units were on scene until around 2 am this morning.
At this time officials have no suspects but investigators are working with the phone company to attempt to locate the deactivated phone. No injuries were reported and all residents were allowed back in the college without further incident.
For more information on the Walnut Ridge Police Department visit www.cityofwalnutridge.com
For more information on the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office visit www.lawrencecountysheriffsoffice.com .