Should Penn State have alerted students sooner about off-campus shooter?

Students at Pennsylvania State University on Friday complained on Twitter that the school had failed to alert the campus about a Thursday night shooting at an off-campus hotel in which the shooter was still on the loose.

Two people were killed and one — the 21-year-old shooter’s ex-girlfriend — were wounded at P.J. Harrigan’s at the Ramada Inn on South Atherton Street, about two miles from campus, according to news reports. The shooter later broke into a residence and killed the homeowner and then himself.

Penn State spokeswoman Lisa Powers told Onward State, an online student news site, that the university, as required under federal law, puts out alerts when incidents occur on campus property, public property within or adjacent to campus, and non-campus property that the college owns or controls.

“State College police responded to the shooting in the borough last night as it was not on Penn State’s campus," Powers told Onward State. "The alert system includes incidents that are within Clery-reportable locations. Nevertheless, we understand our community concerns and the university will continue to review processes.”

Early Friday afternoon, Powers issued another statement, noting that the university and borough police had been closely monitoring the situation Thursday evening.

“After careful consideration based on the circumstances known to law enforcement at the time, location of the incidents, and the lack of an imminent threat to Penn State students or the campus, it was decided that an alert would not be sent,” she wrote. “The decision to send an action alert is made on a case-by-case basis for each situation, and is based on information available to Penn State police at the time of the event.”

While Penn State may not have been required under federal law to send out an alert in the Ramada case, schools are encouraged to consider having a policy for notifying students about potential threats, even in areas not required to be reported on, according to the Clery Center, which advises schools on campus crime.

“I can’t determine whether or not they were in compliance,” said Abigail Boyer, interim executive director. “But it’s an ongoing conversation at institutions when there are incidents that fall outside of Clery compliance but still might impact members of the community. Does the institution have a system for communicating about that?”

Temple University sends out alerts when incidents occur on campus or other areas patrolled by campus police, including the west side of Broad Street, where a significant number of students live, said Ray Betzner, university spokesman.