Armed intruders cause almost two hour campus lockdown

Police on the scene as armed intruders were reported to be on campus 1/24/24.

On Jan. 24, Kennesaw State students were told to shelter in place and hide as three armed intruders were reported on campus.

Three DeKalb County carjacking suspects were spotted near Kennesaw State and entered campus grounds after a chase with police, causing an almost two hour lockdown across the Kennesaw campus.

It is still unclear how many of the three intruders were armed, though at least one of them was, according to WSB-TV. A majority of the police activity occurred at the KSU Place residential complex.

At 6:22 p.m. on Jan. 24, Kennesaw State sent out an alert through the Rave Alert system telling students there was police activity involving an armed suspect near campus. 

At 6:44 p.m., another alert was sent out declaring, “Armed Intruder reported at Kennesaw State.” This message told students to seek shelter and stay there.

Shortly before this, at 6:34 p.m., The Sentinel had spotted a large police presence on Bartow Avenue near the Legacy Gazebo and the Social Science building.

At 7:42 p.m., another alert was sent, reminding students to continue to shelter in place and stating that there were “armed suspects” reported on campus, adding that police were searching the area. Shortly after, an article was published by WSB-TV stating that there were three suspects on campus and that one had been apprehended by police.

Police were heard over the radio by Sentinel staff clearing multiple buildings ensuring that the intruders were not hiding in there. One of which was the Math and Statistics building.

At 8:17 p.m., a final message was sent through the Rave alert system giving an “all clear” notice, telling students and staff that, “Normal campus operations may resume.” 

As of the time this article was written, only one of the suspects has been captured. The other two are still on the run but do not pose a threat to campus.

This is an ongoing situation and this article will be updated as more is learned.