ENN activated after threat detected

Photo illustration by Brittney Bomnin
Photo illustration by Brittney Bomnin
Photo illustration by Brittney Bomnin

The University of Miami Police Department sent out an alert via the Emergency Notification Network to notify the community about two armed suspects that were on the Coral Gables campus. The initial alert, sent at approximately 8:41 a.m., asked recipients to “be on the look out” for two black male suspects that were “possibly armed with a gun.”

According to reports, university administrators received the first alert before a second went out to students, who were notified at approximately 9:30 a.m. The alerts, however, were issued almost an hour after the sighting of the armed suspects was first reported to police as a potential threat.

UMPD released an e-mail crime alert at 10:07 a.m. stating that the two subjects were seen in the area of apartment building 36 by the BankUnited Center at approximately 5 a.m.

A UM student heard a noise outside of his apartment window and saw the pair before they left in an easterly direction, according to UMPD. The suspects were described as in their 20s, with one sporting light gray pants and a white hooded sweatshirt with thin blue stripes, and the other wearing a black sweatshirt and dark pants.

The e-mail also described an old four-door green Nissan that the subjects were standing in front of when they were spotted. It is unclear whether the vehicle is associated with the suspects. The Coral Gables campus was under lockdown until an “All-Clear” was issued at 8:09 a.m.

“Different offices are meeting right now to gather everything that took place,” said Karla Hernandez, associate director of media relations.

Questions arise, however, regarding the timing of the ENN alert. Over an hour passed between the time the ENN alert  was issued and the moment the police announced the all-clear. Although the ENN’s purpose is to notify the campus about threats and dangerous situations around campus, it is still unknown as to why no original warning was sent out about the two armed suspects when the threat was acknowledged.