SPSCC reopens following Tuesday lockdown prompted by report of person with weapon

South Puget Sound Community College reopened Wednesday morning after local law enforcement swept the campus for an unconfirmed threat the day prior.

College officials locked-down the Olympia campus Tuesday afternoon after someone reported seeing a person walking near Mottman Road who appeared to be carrying a weapon.

A large law enforcement presence conducted a building-to-building search and evacuated each area of the campus, according to an SPSCC alert webpage. Law enforcement ultimately did not locate a suspect nor did they find anything on campus that officials deemed suspicious, Olympia Police Lt. Paul Lower said Wednesday morning.

Tumwater police and Thurston County Sheriff’s deputies assisted Olympia police in the sweep, Lower said.

“As you can imagine, it took a lot of officers to cover that campus,” Lower said. “It’s a big campus, so we really appreciated their help to go through those buildings.”

SPSCC reported the sweep was completed by 5:55 p.m. but campus buildings remained locked for the evening and operations were suspended until midnight.

At 6:23 a.m. Wednesday, SPSCC announced the campus was open and operating as usual. However, the Clipper Coffee Corner and Café was closed.

Lower said Olympia police issued a bulletin to area law enforcement with information about the unconfirmed threat. With the campus reopening, he advised the public to stay vigilant.

“If you spot something suspicious or out of the ordinary, please contact local law enforcement and school administration,” Lower said.

Anyone with information about the unconfirmed threat can contact the Olympia Police Department at 360-753-8300, he added.