OXFORD, Ohio — Reports of a possible active shooter prompted a large police response at Miami University on Thursday afternoon, but the university said investigators later determined the sounds were likely fireworks and found no evidence of gunfire.
According to a statement sent by Miami University, Butler County Sheriff's Office deputies received a report of shots fired near McGuffey Hall around 2 p.m. Miami University police also received reports of shots fired.
Within a minute, Miami University police officers responded to the area, along with officers from the Oxford Police Department and the Butler County Sheriff's Office, the university said in their statement to WCPO. This prompted the university to issue an emergency alert notifying the campus of the reported threat.
As officers investigated, multiple witnesses told police the noises were more consistent with fireworks than gunfire, according to the university's statement. Authorities said they found no evidence of shots being fired and located no injured people.
Police searched McGuffey Hall and the surrounding area, identified no threat and cleared the scene.
An all-clear message was later sent through the university's emergency alert system.
