'All clear' given after active shooter reported on OU's campus in Norman

NORMAN — A report of an active shooter and possible shots fired on the University of Oklahoma's campus turned out to be "a bogus call," according to university police.

An all-clear was given 89 minutes after the University of Oklahoma alerted students and staff of a reported active shooter on campus. In a tweet, the university said campus police issued an "all clear" after a thorough search revealed no threat was found.

Update: University of Oklahoma says fake calls reporting active shooter came from outside US

OU Police Chief updates media on active shooter threat

Nate Tarver, chief of the University of Oklahoma's police department, told media representatives at the scene the hundreds of officers who responded to the panic call could not find any evidence that a shooting had occurred.

"We did a thorough search of the library and the adjacent area, and found no threats, no evidence that any shooting had occurred," Tarver said.

The chief said his officers have been trained to respond to active shooter situations and will review the response to determine if there are any areas where it could be strengthened. Beyond that, he said the department's staff was happy that it appeared everyone was safe.

As for whether or not the alert may have been related to a swatting call, Tarver said those kinds of situations place both responding officers and areas they normally patrol at risk.

Swatting is a prank where someone makes a hoax 911 call while disguising their phone number and its origin, drawing police and often heavily armed SWAT officers to the location of a made-up emergency.

"It makes those other spots vulnerable because all the law enforcement is concentrated in one area. That is not a favorable situation, but we don't know of any other way to handle it at this time," Tarver said.

As for what happened Friday night, Tarver said the department would look at that "a little bit further to find out how it happened."

OU President Joseph Harroz, Jr. applauded the law enforcement response.

"I commend our OUPD officers and law enforcement from across the area for their swift response tonight," Harroz, Jr. said. "Our officers took immediate action, our emergency protocols worked, and our community was kept informed. Campus is safe."

Oklahoma Highway Patrol said hundreds of officers responded to OU active shooter call

Oklahoma Highway Patrol Trooper Eric Foster told The Oklahoman at 10:45 p.m. Friday that the Rave Panic Button app was pushed, prompting an immediate response from hundreds of officers in the area.

"More than 70 troopers were notified immediately, and not just them. It was a good response from multiple agencies, and it was very quick."

More: Rave emergency response app available to school districts statewide

Hunter McKee, spokesman for the Cleveland County Sheriff's Department, said deputies from his agency responded to the area, as did officers from Moore, Noble and Norman's police departments and the Oklahoma Highway Patrol.

A timeline of the alerts that OU sent out regarding a possible active shooter

The first alert was sent to campus and to twitter at 9:24 p.m. It noted that the alleged active shooter was at Van Vleet Oval, and urged immediate action. The area is also known as the South Oval and is located north of Lindsey between Asp and Elm.

"Run. Hide. Fight!" the tweet concluded.

Then, at 9:46 p.m., a second tweet from the university's main account noted that University of Oklahoma Police were investigating possible shots fired on the campus.

The tweet went on to advise residents avoid the South Oval area and to shelter in place. At 10:04 and 10:31 p.m., a similar tweets were shared.

At 10:53 p.m., an hour-and-a-half after the first alert went out and people on campus were instructed to run or hide themselves, the all-clear was issued.

Rachel Dorsey, an OU junior who was on campus Friday night during the shelter in place, said when the all-clear came in she almost didn't believe it.

"The run, hide, fight was for sure, it made all of us think that it was a complete threat and that we needed to take cover," Dorsey told The Oklahoman. "And then the fact that there had been like lots of rumors and stuff with different students on campus."

Texas Tech softball team confirms they are safe after playing against OU in Norman

Texas Tech softball team, who lost to OU in Norman earlier in the day, noted that their team and staff are not on campus following their game.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with the OU community and the safety of all those here in Norman," the team shared on Twitter.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: 'All clear' issued after active shooter reported at University of Oklahoma