The news about UC Merced is flowing into Twitter by the second. According to CBS, there were at least 5 students on the campus at Merced that were stabbed on Wednesday morning, at approximately 8 a.m. local time or later. The suspect who attacked others in the stabbing at UC Merced was killed after being shot.
On Twitter, the UC Merced account has updated concerned parties with the news that a press conference about the stabbings will be held at 4 p.m. local time on Wednesday, November 4, the same day of the stabbings. The location of the press conference has not yet been announced as of this writing, However, they have issued a press release about the stabbings at UC Merced to give more information.
“Update: Press conference at 4 p.m. today. Location TBD. Press release posted: http://ow.ly/UfnaU “
That press release has let the public know that the UC Merced campus was placed on a lockdown status and closed. The University of California, Merced Campus, had classes cancelled for Wednesday after the stabbing, and UC Merced has offered the below emergency phone number for concerned UC Merced parents, loved ones, and others to get more information about the stabbings that occurred on Wednesday.
Ban Knives, oh brother – 5 Students Stabbed on UC Merced Campus; Alleged Attacker Fatally Shot https://t.co/DXmncizES5
— TraderStef (@TraderStef) November 4, 2015
“Campus is closed and on lockdown. Classes are cancelled for today. For further updates, visit the Emergency website. 209-228-4400 is our emergency hotline.”
The emergency website for UC Merced is also being updated with new updates about the stabbings. On that site, visitors can see the breakdown of the events as they occurred. By 9:17 a.m., the UC Merced authorities reported that the stabbing situation was under control, with the suspect in the stabbings reported dead. They confirmed at the UC Merced emergency site that there were five people stabbed, with two of those stabbing victims having been sent via medical helicopter to local hospitals, with all of them being conscious.
At 8:41 a.m., the emergency site had urged others to avoid the UC Merced campus. At 8:02 a.m., the stabbing was first reported on the emergency website, with the stabbings happening near the Classroom and Office Building.
“At least five students were stabbed at the University of California, Merced campus Wednesday morning, according to officials. According to tweets from the school, a stabbing was reported at the Classrooms and Office Building on campus just after 8 a.m. Wednesday. Police say the suspect was shot and killed.”
As a result of the stabbings on the UC Merced campus, already folks are calling for a ban on knives on college campuses.
The Indiana Jones solution works. | 5 Students Stabbed on UC Merced Campus; Alleged Attacker Fatally Shot https://t.co/lxc9ReVjgs via @ktla
— Dave (@dbc603) November 4, 2015
The University of California, Merced, is one of the newest of the University of California campuses, tucked in the San Joaquin Valley. UC Merced is found within the unincorporated Merced County, California, near Merced, and First Lady Michelle Obama famously gave a commencement speech there on May 16, 2009, in Merced, California.
UC Merced opened in 2005, and those 500 graduating students back in 2009 were the first to receive their diplomas since the school had opened. The UC Merced Twitter account is also continuing to send out further updates on who is allowed to leave campus, along with information about safely leaving campus via transportation provided.
No names of the stabbing victims at UC Merced have yet been released, with the families of the stabbing victims likely having been notified recently. The dead stabbing suspect’s name in the UC Merced stabbing incident has not yet been released.
[Photo by David Paul Morris / Getty Images]