Washu issues all-clear after multi-agency search finds no weapon on campus
Washington University mobilized emergency notifications on Tuesday morning after a report of an armed person on campus; washu later sent an all-clear once officers completed searches and found no weapon. The incident prompted a multi-jurisdiction response that unfolded over roughly an hour on Feb. 24, 2026.
Washu campus search timeline
Multiple police departments began searching buildings on the Danforth campus after 9: 15 a. m. The university dispatched a first text alert at 9: 18 a. m. Officers were still active on scene midmorning; by 10: 05 a. m. they were returning to their cars near campus and packing up equipment. Text alerts at 10: 25 a. m. delivered an "all clear, " saying officers did not find anyone carrying a weapon.
University City police and allied departments on scene
University City police officers were among personnel from St. Louis and Clayton conducting the search. As officers began clearing buildings, they carried long guns. The coordinated presence across jurisdictions followed the initial warning from Washington University of a person with a gun on campus early Tuesday.
Danforth campus location and notification details
The activity centered on the Danforth campus, located west of Skinker Boulevard. Campus officials used text messaging to alert students and staff; the first alert came minutes after police began responding. The sequence—report, alerts, room-by-room searches, and an all-clear about an hour later—underscored the university’s notification protocol in practice.
Other St. Louis-area public-safety items in the bulletin
Local coverage that day also noted other recent public-safety developments. The former chief of the Berkeley Fire Department and his teen daughter died Saturday in an apparent shooting at a Ferguson home. Friends remembered Olivia Bumbac for an infectious laugh, a positive attitude, a welcoming nature and a moment when she hid her bearded dragon lizard.
Separately, a lawsuit says a termination notice was sent at 10: 30 p. m. Thursday; it ordered three locations in Rock Hill, Brentwood and an item that is unclear in the provided context. Feb. 1 had been marked as the one-year anniversary of Missouri’s only prison nursery program at the state lockup for women in Vandalia. "I don’t know that those sentences fully redress anyone’s circumstances, " Judge Ellen Ribaudo said.
Readers were also invited to subscribe for more updates: a weekly email would deliver the latest in local public safety news, with email notifications sent only once a day and only if there are new matching items. Another prompt encouraged getting up-to-the-minute news sent straight to devices.
Cause and effect: threat report led to rapid response and clearance
The proximate cause was a report of an armed person on campus; the effect was an immediate, multi-department search of buildings and campus grounds. That response produced measurable milestones: a first alert at 9: 18 a. m., active searches beginning after 9: 15 a. m., officers packing up gear at 10: 05 a. m., and an all-clear at 10: 25 a. m. What makes this notable is the compressed timeline and visible interagency coordination, which allowed university officials to clear campus within about an hour.
Implications for campus operations and community awareness
The episode illustrates how a single report—its origin unclear in the provided context—can trigger a large operational response affecting students, staff and local police units. The university’s use of text alerts and the presence of St. Louis, Clayton and University City officers with long guns likely shaped how people on the Danforth campus perceived risk and reacted while searches were underway. The all-clear message closed the immediate incident, but the sequence highlights how notification timing and visible law-enforcement posture combine to manage both real and perceived threats on campus.
