All Clear: Active Threat on Campus

Posted on: Jun, 17, 2020

At around 11:45 am PST today (Wednesday, June 17, 2020), a Grays Harbor College (GHC) employee encountered an armed man brandishing a weapon in the air and shouting in the lower area of the Grays Harbor College Aberdeen Campus. An alert was immediately sent out to students and employees letting those on campus know that they should shelter in place. The Aberdeen Police Department was contacted via 911. Police arrived and searched the area, but did not find the intruder.

Grays Harbor College President, Jim Minkler, working with the GHC Emergency Operations Team, shut down the Aberdeen Campus at approximately 12:15 pm. All employees, students, and those in the Wonderland Child Care Center were evacuated from the campus in an orderly fashion. The campus was relatively empty at the time of the incident, as most employees and students were not on campus due to COVID-19 restrictions. Dr. Minkler said, “Our top priority is the health and welfare of our students and employees. By closing campus and sending everyone home, we may lose a day of instruction for some students, but it’s worth it to ensure everyone’s safety.”

An Aberdeen Police Officer as well as GHC’s incident commander, Chris Macht, were on site to ensure everyone exited campus safely. According to GHC incident commander Chris Macht, “There are many woods around the area that an individual could hide in, so to be safe, we felt it was wise to evacuate the campus.”

The Grays Harbor College Aberdeen Campus is expected to resume normal operations – those being followed during the COVID-19 pandemic – tomorrow on Thursday, June 18, 2020. Students, faculty, and staff who have been approved to be on campus under the COVID- 19 restrictions should report tomorrow unless otherwise notified.

For additional information, please contact Kristy Anderson, GHC Chief of Institutional Effectiveness, Research and Planning at kristy.anderson@ghc.edu or leave a message at 360-538- 4151.