While the University alert system is periodically reviewed throughout the year, last week’s two shelter-in-place orders were more than a test for the emergency response technology. After a man fled a traffic stop, the University was locked down for five hours Feb. 25. And an active attacker with a knife caused another shelter-in-place Feb. 27. During these two events, University alert systems delivered frequent updates to the community with descriptions and locations of possible suspects and updates surrounding police activity.
The comprehensive system — that includes text and email alerts, social media updates, sirens across Grounds, displays on computers in classrooms and updates to an emergency management website — had little room for error in an active threat situation. However, delays in email alerts and archived emergency messages on the Emergency Management website confused students and made it unclear whether shelter-in-place orders had been lifted during the Feb. 25 emergency.
University community members received frequent emergency alerts Feb. 25 regarding the whereabouts of known-gang affiliate Nyeem Hill who ran from police after an attempted traffic stop and car accident Feb. 25. After students and staff were mandated to shelter in place from around 9 a.m. to 1:45 p.m., Hill eventually escaped custody. The community also received alerts Thursday afternoon as suspect Edward Conlin Lee who stabbed an unnamed individual on Grounds, ran from police Feb. 27. Lee was arrested after an approximately hour-long lockdown.
Several students and staff reported experiencing delays in email alerts during Feb. 25’s lockdown. Even after shelter-in-place orders had been lifted, some community members continued to receive email alerts stating that students must remain indoors due to Hill’s sighting near the University. University Spokesperson Bethanie Glover attributed these email delays to a surplus of emails being sent at the time of the emergency, causing a delay in the system.
“The volume of U.Va. Alerts emails — alongside routine email traffic — caused delays in email delivery,” Glover said in a statement to The Cavalier Daily. “This means that while alerts were sent at the intended intervals, a backlog of emails caused the email component of the U.Va. Alerts to arrive out of sequence and after the shelter-in-place had been lifted.”
According to Glover, all other alert systems including text messages and social media updates functioned in a timely manner without technological difficulties.
The Emergency Management Website also sparked confusion among community members as an alert from the Nov. 13, 2022 shooting on Culbreth Road — which killed three University students and injured two others — appeared at the top of this website, instead of the Feb. 25 shelter-in-place information. This display alerted students that there had been a shooting. The only part of the alert which signaled that it was an error was the date of Nov. 13, 2022 displayed in the top left corner of the alert box.
“We are aware that some archived messages, including a reference to the November 13, 2022, shelter-in-place directive, were visible on the Emergency Management website during last week’s event,” Glover said. “To prevent confusion, these messages have been updated with clear date labels, and internal processes are being reviewed to ensure outdated information does not appear in future alerts.”
University alert systems are managed by members of the Critical Incident Management Team, which includes the Department of Safety and Security, Office of Emergency Management, University Communications and other senior leaders who communicate emergencies to the University community and support crisis response. The CIMT dictates both the content and timing of emergency alerts which are sent to community members approximately every 15 minutes, although the frequency of alerts may change depending upon the nature of the situation, Glover stated.
The CIMT was established in 2012 after the Board of Visitors adopted the Critical Incident Management Plan to assess how to adequately prepare for, respond to and recover from any emergency incident which directly impacts the University. According to the updated 2025 version and fourth edition of this plan, the CIMP was created to instruct University departments on how to respond to emergencies of a finite duration.
“The CIMP Base Plan and relevant annexes are implemented when it becomes necessary to mobilize resources to save lives and protect property, infrastructure and the environment,” the plan states.
The plan also assigns officers to certain roles when responding to or addressing an emergency.
The CIMP can only be activated after City and County jurisdictional Directors of Emergency Services declare a local emergency or the Governor of Virginia declares a state of emergency. The CIMP can also be activated if the University determines that a hazard or imminent threat exists on-Grounds and that critical needs regarding the safety of individuals and maintenance of property demand an immediate response.
Once the decision to activate the CIMP is made, U.Va. Emergency Management notifies the CIMT which then provides a brief description of the situation as well as initial priorities and safety instructions to the CIMT before being sent to University community members. According to Kyle Ervin, public safety information officer of the Charlottesville Police Department, the shelter-in-place ordinances were directed by the University.
According to Glover, the University will continue to improve emergency communications, and community members interested in submitting feedback or providing suggestions on how to improve University safety measures can email safety@virginia.edu.
“Information Technology Services is pursuing increased system capacity to prevent email delays from reoccurring in the future,” Glover said.
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