The University issued an emergency alert to the community Tuesday around 9 a.m., instructing all students, faculty and staff to shelter in place with a suspect at-large. As of 12:25 p.m., police have expanded their search to Central Grounds and have urged community members to not leave buildings according to an emergency alert.
The Virginia State Police are conducting the search in coordination with the City of Charlottesville Police, the Albemarle County Police and the University Police Department. The search is occurring both on the ground and in the air according to Matthew Demlein, Virginia State Police Public Relations Coordinator.
The suspect, Nyheem Hill, is described as an Black male, 6 feet 1 inches and 170 lbs, wearing a gray hoodie according to University spokesperson Bethanie Glover. The University Police Department released a photo on X of the suspect and urged community members to call 911 if he is seen.
Hill was last seen in the Lewis Mountain neighborhood area according to Demlein. As of 11 a.m., police were searching this neighborhood and have since expanded their search to Central Grounds. Glover said that Hill has a known criminal history and gang affiliation and has three outstanding warrants in Albemarle County. The suspect is not affiliated with the University.
At around 8:13 a.m., Virginia State Police attempted to make a traffic stop of a vehicle with an expired inspection according to Demlein. After the suspect refused to stop, the police followed the suspect to Ivy Road where the suspect fled from his vehicle. The suspect’s car then struck a State Police vehicle and one other vehicle, according to Demlein.
President Jim Ryan sent an email to the University community at 12:15 p.m., reminding University community members that the shelter-in-place order still stands. Ryan said that U.Va. Emergency Alerts will continue to be sent out every 15 minutes.
“We will continue to share information as it becomes available,” Ryan wrote. “In the meantime, please continue to follow the UVA Emergency Alerts and shelter in place until further notice.”
According to the University Status Board — which displays the scheduled operations of University services including dining, libraries and parking and transportation — all services on Grounds are now on a “modified” schedule. For the most updated information, refer to the Status Board.
All in-person, University classes have been canceled until further notice. According to Glover, the University did not tell professors to hold classes over Zoom but professors may choose to shift their classes online if they wish. Multiple professors have emailed their students that they will continue to hold classes on Zoom.
In an email to parents, Charlottesville City Schools shifted all schools to “indoor instruction” this morning “out of an abundance of caution” and in response to the University’s shelter-in-place order, according to Beth Cheuk, CCS supervisor of community relations. This means that all school-related activities will move indoors including recess.
The University alert initially stated that there was a fire and police presence on Alderman Road, near first-year dorms, but was quickly escalated to a shelter in place order.
Around 9:35 a.m., sirens began sounding across Grounds, and at least one helicopter was circling the area. The sirens sounded again around 10:30 a.m., reminding students to continue to shelter in place.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
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