At approximately 1 p.m. Wednesday, St. Mary’s College of Maryland observed a campus-wide “shelter in place” procedure to ensure the safety of the community after the Public Safety Office was informed by State Police that an alleged armed robbery had occurred near Trinity Church. The church is adjacent to the College. The procedure was lifted before 3 p.m.
The alleged victim of the robbery was a male in his 40s with no connection to the college and was visiting Trinity Church. Immediately after the State Police called the College, “shelter in place” instructions went out asking everyone to stay indoors. All campus doors were electronically locked and only students and faculty with electronic key cards were able to open them.
Campus safety officers made loudspeaker announcements using car-mounted public address speakers. Phone calls were made to all college departments and building contacts to make sure that everyone in each building was alerted. Campus-wide voice mail calls and all student/faculty/staff e-mails were sent. An emergency alert was posted to the webpage and updated.
Students, faculty and staff reacted calmly and stayed inside. The “shelter in place” status was lifted at 2:53 p.m. after the State Police advised the campus that the suspect was not in the immediate vicinity. Classes resumed as scheduled.