Calls that triggered an active shooter response at the University of Oklahoma Friday night were a hoax.
Initial alerts from the University warned there was an active shooter situation at the Van Vleet Oval and ordered a shelter in place, or to “Run. Hide. Fight!.”
After about an hour and a half and a thorough search of the area, OU issued the all clear. There was no shooting, no victims, and no threat to campus.
OU Police Department Chief Nate Tarver said at a press conference more than 100 law enforcement came to the scene and their quick response is appreciated.
A statement from OU President Joe Harroz says it has been confirmed this was a “swatting” incident, where false calls to police are made to elicit a strong response from them. He also says it’s believed the calls came from outside the country.
In light of state attorney general Gentner Drummond’s request for death row inmate Richard Glossip's conviction to be vacated, a state representative has reiterated that he believes Glossip is innocent.
Republican state representative Kevin McDugle of Broken Arrow says he has "zero" doubt in his belief that Glossip is not guilty in a 1997 murder-for-hire scheme that's landed him behind bars for more than 25 years. Glossip has had his last meal three times since his conviction.
"The one thing they have is a witness that says that he was the one that told him to commit the murder. Guess who that witness was? The actual murderer who beat him with a baseball bat. He’s the witness, and what did he get for that testimony? He got off of death row himself and got life in prison," said McDugle.
McDugle said he was "ecstatic" about Drummond's request.
While he's not against the death penalty, McDulge has also spoken out about former death row inmate Julius Jones and called for a moratorium on Oklahoma's executions because he believes the process isn't sound.
Education policy and funding are the top issues at the state legislature, with the House and Senate at odds over competing plans. KGOU general manager Dick Pryor asked Quorum Call publisher Shawn Ashley how involved State Superintendent Ryan Walters has been in working with both chambers.
"Not very, according to some," Ashley said. "Senate President Pro Temp Greg Treat, Senate Education Chair Adam Pugh, and Senator David Bullard, who authored the merit pay portion of the Senate’s education plan, said recently that they didn’t have any conversations with Walters about the plan. Asked if they even knew who the state Department of Education’s legislative liaison was, they said they didn’t."
The Oklahoma House and Senate remain at an impasse over their competing education plans.
- Hear more on KGOU's weekly Capitol Insider podcast.
Another inmate has died at the Oklahoma County Jail. Officers discovered 26-year-old Dina Kirven unresponsive in his cell just before 7 a.m. on Saturday.
Kirven had been booked in the detention center for less than six hours.
According to a news release, police had detained Kirven for unauthorized use of a vehicle.
This is the jail's third death for 2023.
Oklahoma State University is one of five institutions to receive federal funding to host new Industrial Assessment Centers - which helps manufacturing businesses improve productivity, reduce waste and find energy efficiencies.
Nearly $19 million dollars will be shared across the five universities chosen. OSU is receiving nearly $7 million of those funds to establish the Great Plains Center of Excellence.
Late last week, the move was announced by Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff and U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm.
"This initiative is one piece of a grand strategy for us as a country to be able to get back the manufacturing jobs that we have lost over the past couple of decades," said Granholm.
The investment is paid for by congressional infrastructure legislation. The initiative hopes to pay for a ‘clean energy’ economy here in Oklahoma - where oil and gas is a major employment sector.
_________________
For additional news throughout the day visit our website, KGOU.org and follow us on social media.
We also invite you to subscribe to the KGOU PM NewsBrief.