Kurt Horney, a sophomore biochemistry and molecular biology major, was walking to campus from Contra Coffee and Tea for a Sunday morning orientation leader meeting when he heard a loud bang a few blocks away.

Thinking it must be the nearby construction workers, Horney told The Panther he didn’t think too much about the noise. However, just a few minutes later, Horney’s phone dinged with a notification from Chapman’s department of Public Safety (PSAFE): that loud bang was a gunshot.

“Right as I walked onto campus is when I got the email about the active shooter,” Horney said. “I fast-walked into (Argyros Forum) where my meeting was supposed to be. It wasn’t too scary; it was just hearing the shot, but not putting two and two together until I got the email.”

Gunshots were reported near the 200 block of Glassell Street Aug. 29, prompting PSAFE to send out a series of Panther Alerts warning the campus community to avoid the area and “Run, Fight, Hide” if needed.

The first alert was sent out at 9:31 a.m., but the Orange Police Department remained at the scene for approximately six hours after. 

“Initially our own officers and people out on patrol heard what they knew sounded like gunshots,” Chief of PSAFE Randy Burba said. “The neighbors heard; it was very loud. Calls started coming in immediately. We were pretty confident there were gunshots, so we were able to get the Panther Alerts out pretty quickly.”

Burba said the armed assailant fired his weapon into empty space, resulting in no injuries.

As law enforcement handled the incident on-site, Horney and other orientation leaders sheltered-in-place in Argyros Forum, not knowing the level of severity of the situation.

“We turned all the lights off and locked all the doors,” Horney said. “Some people handled the situation very well … People were crying, too, because it happened on a Sunday morning. It came out of the blue, and no one was expecting it.” 

Horney also described communicating back and forth with his worried family members, constantly sending group updates as more Panther Alerts came through.

This incident comes just six months after a shooting in Orange took the lives of four people, including one child.  

Daniella Benabou,a junior business administration major and fellow orientation leader, didn’t hear the gunshots as she walked to campus that morning, but the drama of the situation was enough to stir her emotions.

“I texted my (orientation leader) group chat and asked if there was any way I could stop at someone’s apartment just to sit for a second and process everything,” Benabou said. “I ended up going to a friend's apartment at The K (Residence Hall), and we just sat there and wondered why this would happen right before school started.”

The second alert came only seven minutes after the first, informing students that the assailant was contained at a residence on the east side of North Glassell Street.

“It was a unique situation because we were also within earshot, and we knew even while we were trying to figure out where they are, we should just get it out that there are gunshots in the area,” Burba said. “As we found out more information, we wanted to update the alerts, so people knew where to avoid.” 

Public Safety continued to update the community on the status of the incident for hours. Follow-up Panther Alerts informed students of the presence of police and verified that campus was not directly impacted.

“The whole point is to get the information out there and let people decide how they need — or feel they need — to react,” Burba said.

At 12:02 p.m, another Panther Alert confirmed the suspect had no known Chapman affiliation, although students were still directed to avoid the area.

The Panther Alert system has been used for more than 10 years, but Burba said last Sunday was the longest incident to-date.

Police had the suspect in custody by 3:07 p.m., and by 3:30 p.m, a Panther Alert declared the incident fully resolved. President Daniele Struppa sent an email later that afternoon to announce that the situation had ended.

“While this incident did not take place on our campus, it was emotional for all of us and had a direct impact on many who live in the area,” Struppa wrote. “I want to reaffirm our commitment to the safety of our students, faculty and staff. That is my top priority as we come back together for this academic year.” 

Afterward, Benabou reflected on the emotional exhaustion the day caused.

“I just went home and laid in bed the rest of the day,” Benabou said.