RADFORD -- Radford University officials are pleased with the performance of RU Alert – the communication system that utilizes voice, text and email messages to notify the campus community about emergency events – in response to a Thursday night off-campus shooting.

The RU Office of Emergency Preparedness (OEP) initiated the system Thursday night after the Radford University Police Department received a call at 9:24 p.m. that a man had been shot on Calhoun Street a couple of blocks from campus, and that the shooting suspect was seen fleeing toward campus.

At 9:35 p.m., the first alert went out via voice and text phone messages and emails to the 6,520 RU Alert subscribers instructing students, faculty and staff to “shelter in place.”

Four additional update alerts were sent over the next 5 1/2 hours keeping the campus community apprised of the situation. The OEP also utilized the campus cable station and university website to communicate updates as well as social media tools such as Facebook and Twitter.

Meanwhile, tactical teams from RUPD, Radford City Police and surrounding jurisdictions, accompanied by firearm-sniffing dogs, performed a building-by-building sweep of the RU campus. At 2:55 a.m. Friday, the decision was made to lift the Shelter in Place order once authorities determined there was no credible threat remaining to the campus community.

The shooting victim, Floyd Wilfred-Linn Wright, Jr., 33, of Christiansburg, was pronounced dead shortly after being transported to Carilion New River Valley Medical Center. Radford police later arrested 42-year-old Radford resident Phillip Eugene Beale Sr. in connection with the shooting.

In the aftermath of the incident, Stacy Mahoney wrote, “My daughter is currently a graduate student and lives on Calhoun Street. I am very impressed with law enforcement and the school personnel. I was immediately notified by phone, as was my daughter, of the imminent threat and also kept abreast throughout the next few hours. Very awesome system that is in place. Thank you all.”

By noon on Friday, the OEP reported 363 new sign-ups for RU Alert, “the largest jump we have seen since we have had the system,” said Dennie Templeton, RU's Director of Emergency Preparedness. Templeton added that the OEP will begin surveying today all students and staff with basic questions on how they receive emergency information.

In a letter of thanks sent Saturday to the RU community, President Penelope W. Kyle wrote, “The frightening incident that led to the security measures put into effect could have caused chaos for our community. But the calm, collected reaction of everyone involved ensured that the situation was brought to a quick and safe resolution.”

RU Police Chief Colleen Roberts said, "We applaud the response of the law enforcement agencies who responded to the situation, and to our students, faculty and staff who calmly complied with the Shelter in Place order. By working together, we were able to safely and swiftly secure the campus and bring this matter, from the university's perspective, to a satisfactory conclusion."