Summary of Calvin's response to robbery near campus
The following is a summary of the incident that transpired near Calvin’s campus in the early morning hours of Friday, January 12, 2014, that led to the college issuing a lockdown from 12:17 a.m. to 1:51 a.m.
Late Thursday night a robbery took place at the bus stop near the south entrance to campus off Burton Street. The Grand Rapids Police Department (GRPD) responded to the incident and met the victim near the corner of the East Beltline and Burton. The suspect fled westbound on Burton Street. GRPD notified Campus Safety officials around 12 a.m. of the incident. At that time it had not been confirmed whether or not the suspect was armed, however the suspect implied he had a weapon during the altercation with the victim. With that knowledge, Campus Safety issued a lockdown of campus in an effort to keep those on campus safe.
The GRPD brought in a K-9 unit to search for the suspect and that search happened near the Calvin campus. The lockdown was kept in place until the K-9 unit tracked down a suspect and made an arrest west of campus in a nearby neighborhood. Neither the victim nor the suspect were Calvin students. And it turned out the suspect was unarmed.
Calvin College's emergency response team, which is comprised of staff from all divisions at Calvin, is reviewing the college’s response to this incident as the safety of all members of the community remains the college's highest priority.