A man sits in a crane 150 feet above the Southern Methodist University campus in Dallas, threatening to shoot the Dallas Police officers trying to talk him down, Monday, May 28, 2012. Special tactics officers from the Dallas Police Department were working with SMU campus police to manage the scene and try to talk the man down from the crane. No injuries had been reported. (Associated Press)
Update: 11:15 a.m.
The standoff between the Dallas Police Department and the man who climbed into a crane on SMU’s campus ended early Tuesday morning.
The man fell 150 feet to his death after a 15 hour standoff.
SWAT officers climbed the crane in the dark in attempt to talk him down. Instead, the man then climbed out of the window and clung to edge.
According to the Dallas Morning News, the man either jumped or lost his grip and fell.
The suspect has not been identified as yet.
Update: 12:08 a.m.
An unidentified man, possible armed, continues to occupy a crane above the soon to be Residential Commons construction site on SMU’s campus.
A carjacking suspect, possibly armed, climbed onto a crane on the SMU campus.
According to NBC DFW, police have not yet confirmed if the man in actually armed.
According to the Dallas Morning News, Dallas Police Department has confirmed that the man in the crane is the same suspect in an early-morning downtown carjacking.
Streets from U.S. 75 toward the SMU campus on Mockingbird Lane have been shut down and police have contained the area.
Buildings were evacuated including the Dedman Recreational Center.
Reports indicate that the individual is not affiliated with SMU, according to SMU news and communications.
While all this was happening, SMU had yet to inform the students of what was going on.
Around 12:30 p.m., the Dedman Rec Center emailed out students and faculty informing them that they would be closed for the remainder of the day due to an “unexpected emergency.”
At 2:18 p.m., SMU tweeted out their first warning: “Police advise avoiding the SE quadrant of @SMU Dallas campus. Unidentified man has climbed a crane at Residential Commons construction site.”
Immediately after they tweeted, “Police have contained the area. @SMU is closed for Memorial Day holiday, but the public is asked to avoid area near Mockingbird & Central.”
Students were outraged at the lack of alerts given by SMU.
“Good job #SMU for sending out an alert for the shooter in the crane #ohwait #youdidnt,” @lhammesfahr tweeted.
“The broader campus community was informed via the SMU home page, Twitter and Facebook pages, and through building managers of residential halls,” Kent Best, Executive Director of SMU news and communications said. “Student residence halls and the rest of campus remain open. SMU and Dallas Police continue to monitor the situation and will keep the campus community updated.”
Some students still felt Facebook and Twitter updates were not good enough in comparison to the updates given to students in April when tornadoes neared campus.
“Shocking/scary that @SMU didn’t even notify students/faculty about the shooter on campus. We were more informed when there was a tornado,” @katty_snell tweeted.
SMU student Kelsey Charles agrees. “I was better informed of emergencies on @UTaustin campus than I am of issues on my own campus at @SMU #notok,” she tweeted.
At the moment, it’s a waiting game between DPD negotiators and the man in the crane. Hours later he still has not shown signs of giving up.
“If the situation continues through the night, SMU will provide instructions to employees in the buildings near the construction site early Tuesday morning,” Best said. “Those buildings are the Dedman Center for Lifetime Sports, Moody Coliseum, Ford Stadium, Loyd All Sports Center and Crum Basketball Center.”
Original Story
A carjacking suspect, possibly armed, climbed onto a crane above the soon to be Residential Commons on the SMU campus.
According to NBC DFW, police have not yet confirmed if the man in actually armed.
According to the Dallas Morning News, Dallas Police Department has confirmed that the man in the crane is the same suspect in an early-morning downtown carjacking.
Streets from U.S. 75 toward the SMU campus on Mockingbird Lane have been shut down.
Buildings were evacuated including the Dedman Recreational Center.
While all this was happening, SMU had yet to inform the students of what was going on.
Around 12:30 p.m., the Dedman Rec Center emailed out students and faculty informing them that they would be closed for the remainder of the day due to an “unexpected emergency.”
At 2:18 p.m., SMU tweeted out their first warning: “Police advise avoiding the SE quadrant of @SMU Dallas campus. Unidentified man has climbed a crane at Residential Commons construction site.”
Immediately after they tweeted, “Police have contained the area. @SMU is closed for Memorial Day holiday, but the public is asked to avoid area near Mockingbird & Central.”
Students were outraged at the lack of alerts given by SMU.
“Good job #SMU for sending out an alert for the shooter in the crane #ohwait #youdidnt,” @lhammesfahr tweeted.
“I was better informed of emergencies on @UTaustin campus than I am of issues on my own campus at @SMU #notok,” SMU student @kelsey_charles tweeted.
At the moment, it’s a waiting game between DPD negotiators and the man in the crane.
Check back for updates on the situation.
