University of Wisconsin Housing and police are working with residents of the Eagle Heights neighborhood after the arrest of three suspects in connection with an incident in the area late Tuesday night.
Residents of the University Houses in the Eagle Heights neighborhood reported hearing shots fired in the area around 9:30 p.m., according to a University of Wisconsin Police Department statement. After arriving on the scene, UWPD located several persons of interest with possible connections to the incident.
Police took two suspects into custody around 9:36 p.m., the statement said, and the department later apprehended an additional suspect at 11:29 p.m.
UWPD is now working with residents of the Eagle Heights neighborhood to address the incident, according to UWPD Lt. Kari Sasso.
“The response from the community has been concern,” Sasso said. “We are doing everything we can to stay in communication with the people in the area.”
Sasso said there is no longer reason for concern, and UWPD is conducting an ongoing investigation into the incident.
UW issued several WiscAlerts to the campus community members warning them of a possible armed suspect in the Eagle Heights area Tuesday, telling them to avoid the area and notifying them of the description of the suspect.
UWPD found several shell casings at the scene, and an all-clear alert was issued to the campus community at 11:57 p.m., the UWPD statement said.
According to Ald. Scott Resnick, District 8, the technology of the WiscAlert system and the cooperation of multiple police departments allowed the suspects to be apprehended in a timely manner.
Resnick said in his eight years living in the area, this is the first incident he has seen that involved an armed suspect there.
“It’s been a very long time since anything like this has happened in Eagle Heights,” Resnick said. “It is usually a very safe area of campus.”
A statement issued to Eagle Heights residents from Director of Apartments Kelly Ignatoski Wednesday morning said as more is learned about the incident, it will be shared with Eagle Heights residents and campus community members.
According to the statement, the incident was as disturbing and confusing to University Housing as it must have been for residents.
The statement said University Housing residents are encouraged to keep doors locked and report any crime or suspicion of one to UWPD as soon as possible.
