St. Cloud Police Give Update Regarding Suspicious Person at St. Cloud State University

Originally published May 9th, 2023 5:07 a.m.

Updated May 9th, 2023 12:18 p.m.

(KNSI) — St. Cloud police say it was a suicidal man with a knife which caused a campus wide alert to go out to students and staff at St. Cloud State University Monday night.

According to the SCPD Twitter page, at 10:31, they were sent to the call in the 300 block of 4th Avenue South. The man was found at 10:41 p.m. at 4th Avenue and Highway 23. Officers worked with the man and persuaded him to drop the knife. He was taken to the hospital for an evaluation. No one was hurt. No threats to the public were made.

It was this call that prompted the message of a suspicious person on campus.

The initial alert sent at 10:44 said there was an active shooter situation. A message sent six minutes later said it was a “suspicious person” with a description and a warning not to let anyone inside. At about 11:20, information went out that there was a resolution to the situation and the shelter in place was lifted.

Officials with SCSU said it was an error in the messaging system that led to the false report of an active shooter. They say the error has been resolved.

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