Update 1:30 p.m. — According to New Hanover County, today’s evacuation was triggered by an accidental use of the Emergency Management department’s alert system. The alarm was triggered by phone from inside the building, leading to an evacuation, road closures, and a search of the building by numerous members of several local law enforcement agencies including the UNCW and Wilmington police departments and the New Hanover County Sheriff’s office.
According to the county:
“At the time of the alert, employees in the building heard a message stating ‘This is an exercise, this is an exercise, this is an exercise, there is an active shooter in the building.’ That message was created for an active shooter drill that the county conducted in October, and it had not been updated since. The alert message has now been updated.”
You can read New Hanover County’s full release concerning the incident here.
Update 11:30 a.m. — According to New Hanover County Spokeswoman Jessica Loeper, the county’s emergency alert system was triggered earlier this morning.
Loeper said the county was treating the alert as a “real threat,” and law enforcement has responded.
“This was not a planned drill,” Loeper said.
However, according to Loeper, the county is not calling the incident an “active shooter” situation. All county employees have been evacuated; Loeper said all employees were accounted for safe.
WILMINGTON — New Hanover County’s Government Center between Racine Drive and South College Road has been evacuated, and numerous Wilmington Police Department and New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office vehicles were on the scene.
In a tweet from the county, the law enforcement presence was acknowledged, although no the evacuation was not mentioned.
There is an increased law enforcement presence around the @NewHanoverCo Government Center. Roads around our building may be blocked and the building is currently closed, so please avoid the area.
— New Hanover County (@NewHanoverCo) August 1, 2018
A spokesperson from the CFPUA offices, located across Government Center Drive from the county offices, said the utility was under lockdown.
New Hanover County Spokesperson Ruth Ravitz Smith said the county would have an official statement shortly. This article will be updated with that information as soon as it is available.
