Antioch added that campus officials are reviewing the effectiveness of their response, and the college’s mental health counselor is available to faculty, staff and students at the college and Glen Helen.
On Thursday, deputies, law enforcement officers and a K-9 unit from several area agencies searched the park, the Glen Helen Education Center on State Route 343 and neighboring areas, sheriff’s Maj. Eric Spicer said. The 1,000-acre nature preserve is an entity of the college, located adjacent to the campus.
The gunman was spotted near the Outdoor Education Center at Glen Helen at about 11:30 a.m. According to a witness there, the man approached a dorm and when a counselor asked him to leave, the man displayed a gun.
“He more or less implied and made a menacing statement to them,” Spicer said. He “brandished it from his waistband. We’re still investigating what that’s about.”
The man was seen walking between buildings, Spicer said. There are some residential quarters, places for students and others to come stay and visit. “He was seen on the grounds in between those buildings and a staff member spoke to this man,” Spicer said.
He is described as white, in his 20s and wearing long-sleeve camouflage top and long pants, Spicer said.
An alert that went out over emergency radio channels at 1:21 p.m. said, “Antioch College in Yellow Springs is on lock down. Greene County and Yellow Springs police are actively searching the area for a male wearing camouflage who was spotted in the area of Glen Helen.”
The lock down was ended at 4 p.m., according to a statement from the college’s website, which also asks the campus community to be watchful over the next few days and to call 911 if any suspicious people are seen.
Earlier, Nicole Wroten-Craw, a spokeswoman for the college, said students are on break but there are a few still on campus.
The school hosts Ecocamps for kids ages 5 to 15 during the summer and those campers were moved to a secure location and locked down as well. Parents were notified to come and pick up their children, Spicer said. There were believed to be up to 60 children attending the camp.
Spicer said authorities worked to get people at the nature preserve and education center safely off the property.
No injuries were reported.
Rangers from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and the county parks system, as well as police officers from Cedarville and Yellow Springs assisted the sheriff’s office in the search.
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