MADISON, Wis. – School officials at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW) were quick to alert students of a possible attack at the school by a suicidal escaped inmate.
Jesse Miller, a 19-year-old inmate, contacted authorities at 4:40 p.m., Sept. 26, and told them he was on top of a parking ramp at the UW Hospital with a weapon. He said he wanted police to kill him.
UW shut down the hospital briefly and canceled a few classes and campus activities while police searched for Miller.
At 6 p.m., campus authorities sent out a mass E-mail to students warning them to stay indoors. Throughout the night, the university sent out two more E-mails, updated the university Web site, and posted alerts on the popular student Web site, Facebook.
Police believe that Miller was never on the campus and that threats that he made were hoaxes.
Classes resumed the following day, and the hospital was reopened as police still searched for Miller.
UW-Madison police Sgt. Jason Whitney believes the alerts reached as many as 60,000 students and faculty on campus.
