KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) —The emergency alert issued for the University of Tennessee’s Knoxville campus has been canceled after the person suspected of stabbing someone off campus was considered to no longer be a threat, University of Tennessee Police said.
Just after 8 a.m., UT Police issued an update stating that the reported “active attacker” was “no longer a threat to campus,” and the barricade order had been canceled.
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Initially, the University issued an alert to students and posted on the University of Tennessee Knoxville’s website around 7:30 a.m. about a threat reportedly attacking people near campus. People on campus were urged to take appropriate action, and in most cases, barricade themselves in a safe location.
Around the same time as the alert, the Knoxville Police Department reported that officers are investigating a stabbing that occurred in World’s Fair Park, which is not far from campus, that left a victim with what are believed to be non-life-threatening injuries. Knoxville Police said they are working to locate the person suspected in the stabbing, who fled the immediate area.
The University of Tennessee Police Department confirmed on social media that the alert was related to the stabbing at World’s Fair Park, but no students or campus property had been involved, as of 7:35 a.m. UT Police described the person suspected in the stabbing in the stabbing as a male wearing black pants and white shoes, and traveling in the direction west toward the main campus.
“Follow all instructions from police and make sure empty hands are in plain view. Remember RUN, HIDE, FIGHT * Run: If you know the attacker’s location and can get away * Hide: Barricade in a secured area * Fight: As a last resort engage the shooter -Attempt to incapacitate the attacker -Act with physical aggression -Improvise weapons -Commit to your actions If outdoors: go to the nearest safe place immediately. If in a building: -Lock and barricade yourself in a room -Stay away from doors and windows -Eliminate signs that the room is occupied -Silence cell phones,” the alert reads.
