‘Everyone started running;’ UD students describe what they saw that led to police presence

DAYTON — There were several police officers on the University of Dayton’s campus late Sunday night.

>>PHOTOS: Large police presence reported at University of Dayton

Police were in riot gear and officers were shooting pepper balls, our News Center 7 news crew saw Sunday night.

UD Public Safety officers and Dayton Police were dispatched to the area of Kiefaber Street and Lawnview Avenue.

Officers reportedly issued a ‘Signal 99,’ around 11:30 p.m. Sunday night for a request for police assistance, according to scanner traffic.

>>‘A lot of chaos going on at this street;’ Large police presence seen at University of Dayton

News Center 7′s Taylor Robertson reports that UD students were having a block party, which the university is known for. They pick a street via social media where they all flock to party together.

“So, we’re just having a nice Labor Day weekend, and something happened,” said Charlie, a UD student. “A scuffle happened, and a bunch of people started running and the cops pulled up.”

One student said he saw everyone on the street running.

“I was for anyone I knew and pulled them into a house because everyone was saying that someone pulled a gun out and the whole street was running,” said Gary Hoeft. “It cleared the street.”

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Our News Center 7 crew was on the scene as Dayton Police worked to clear the street and shoot pepper balls into the crowd.

Hoeft said these block parties happen frequently on campus.

“It’s a frequent thing when we have these block parties and stuff,” he told News Center 7. “It’s like you’re just trying to hang out with your friends you know here, and then people that live around here but don’t go there come in, and stuff like that happens.”

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He said fights were breaking out and everyone was recording it on their phones.

“I started seeing people pulling out like boxing gloves and they were fighting,” Hoeft told News Center 7. “So, there were like people in a circle, everyone was recording, and I was up by someone’s house. I was just looking down from someone’s porch and people were like boxing and then the next thing we knew, everyone was running.”

Our news crew saw one male being taken away in handcuffs.

“I got lawyers!” he shouted as officers led him away.

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Montgomery County Regional Dispatch told News Center 7 early Monday morning they responded to a large disturbance at the University of Dayton.

We have reached out to UD, Dayton Police, and UD Public Safety for more information to see if anyone has been charged or if any injuries were reported.

News Center 7 will continue to provide updates on this developing story.

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