Someone vandalized a building at the University of Denver after a false emergency call claimed someone had been shot in a different part of campus, according to a statement Monday from DU’s Campus Safety.
An emergency call placed around midnight Monday from a blue-light phone on campus falsely claimed someone had been shot, according to the university. DU did not specify where the emergency phone was located on campus.
When officers arrived on scene they searched the area and determined that no one had been harmed, officials said.
Around 30 minutes later, someone vandalized the entrance to the Ritchie School of Engineering and Computer Science building. Red paint was thrown on the outer doors of the building and black spray paint was used to write on the ground in front of the entrance.
The university believes the incidents were connected.
“It appears a false emergency call was used as a distraction,” Campus Safety Chief Michael Bunker said in a statement Monday. “This false emergency call caused Campus Safety and Denver police to respond to another location and tie up valuable resources unnecessarily, creating a potentially dangerous situation for anyone with a real emergency.”
Anyone with information about the incident should call DU Campus Safety at 303-871-2334.
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