MUSKINGUM COUNTY, Ohio — UPDATE: 1:45 A.M.
A sheriff’s office said a miscommunication led to officers responding to reports of an active shooter situation at a university Monday night.
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Muskingum County Sheriff Matt Lutz told our news partner WBNS in Columbus that a Muskingum University staff member overheard students discussing a dispute between a male and female that happened earlier in the day.
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He said the staff member reported what they heard to campus police.
“It came into him [the officer] as a person that said there was a person holding a hostage or possibly had a gun, active shooter type situation,” he told WBNS.
The officer contacted the sheriff’s office and deputies responded, according to Lutz.
The university issued a shelter-in-place order.
Lutz added that the dispute got around social media, and the chatter got “turned and twisted,” WBNS said.
“I think that got kind of misunderstood. But the report went to the police department, and it came to us and we responded,” said Lutz.
The sheriff’s office said on social media that there was no shooting at the university.
No injuries were reported.
The shelter-in-place has since been lifted.
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