Campus Alert Archive
DCCC

A Bystander's Glimpse of a 'Possible Gun' Locked Down the Marple Campus for an Afternoon

PAarmed personemergency notificationmedium confidence
UnfoundedNo evidence of an actual threat was found. The institutional response is documented because the alert communication is identical to what would occur during a real incident.

Delaware County Community College's Marple Campus was briefly locked down on the afternoon of April 10, 2023, after a report of a possible person with a gun following an altercation. Marple Township police arrived in under a minute and found no weapon and no disturbance; an uninvolved bystander near the altercation had thought a gun may have been displayed. The college closed the campus for the rest of the day out of caution and resumed normal operations the next morning.

Alerts
2
Response
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Killed
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Injured
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Institution
Delaware County Community College
Community College · PA
DCCC Alert
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

2 messages in sequence · 1 verified verbatim

Some alert texts below are approximate reconstructions from news coverage, not confirmed verbatim transcripts. Reconstructed texts are shown in italic with a dashed border. Verified verbatim texts have a solid border and are marked accordingly.

INITIAL ALERTSMS
Verified verbatimDelaware County Community College official Twitter/X account (@DelawareCCC), tweet at approximately 1:40 PM EDT on April 10, 202358 chars
DCCC Emergency Alert: Shelter in Place or Run, Hide, Fight
Verbatim text from DCCC's official Twitter/X account and simultaneous Facebook post on April 10, 2023
The college's website also carried the same message: 'DCCC Emergency- Shelter in Place or Run, Hide, Fight'
Unusually terse: presents shelter-in-place and Run-Hide-Fight as alternatives rather than sequential instructions
Marple Township police were called at about 1:30 PM EDT and arrived in under a minute, finding no gun and no actual disturbance
ALL CLEARSMS
Approximate reconstruction205 chars
DCCC Alert: ALL CLEAR. Police found no weapon and no threat. The Marple Campus is closed for the rest of today; all afternoon and evening classes and events are canceled. Normal operations resume tomorrow.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Reconstructed wording; the operative facts (all-clear, same-day closure, next-day reopening) are confirmed by the DCCC news release and Patch, but the exact alert text is not published.
The college's decision to close the campus for the rest of the day even after the all-clear illustrates the 'abundance of caution' posture community colleges often adopt for unfounded weapon reports.
Context

Background

Delaware County Community College's main campus sits in Marple Township, west of Philadelphia. On the afternoon of April 10, 2023, an altercation on campus led an uninvolved bystander to believe a gun may have been displayed, prompting a shelter-in-place lockdown under the college's protocols. According to Patch, Marple Township Police Chief Brandon Graeff said officers were called around 1:30 PM EDT and arrived in under a minute, finding no person with a gun and no actual disturbance. The college's own news release said the Marple Campus was locked down briefly, given an all-clear by law enforcement, and then closed for the remainder of the day with all afternoon and evening classes, activities, and events canceled. Normal operations resumed the next day. The incident is a textbook example of a second-hand, unfounded weapon report driving a full campus lockdown — a recurring pattern at open-access institutions.
Analysis

Key Findings

The lockdown was triggered by a third-party perception of a possible gun during an altercation, not by any confirmed weapon
Marple Township police arrived in under a minute and found no weapon, no shots, and no injuries
The college closed the entire Marple Campus for the rest of April 10, 2023 even after the all-clear, then reopened normally April 11
Outcome
Police found no gun, no shots fired, and no injuries. Marple Township Police Chief Brandon Graeff said the report stemmed from a third party who saw an altercation and believed a firearm may have been displayed. The Marple Campus was closed for the remainder of April 10; all afternoon and evening classes, activities, and events were canceled. Normal operations resumed April 11, 2023.
Provenance

Sources

  1. Official
    Delaware County Community College Marple Campus Closed Monday, April 10 After Brief Lockdown
    dccc.edu
  2. News
    No Gun, Violence At Delco Community College Despite Lockdown: Police
    patch.com
Tags
armed-personlockdownshelter-in-placeunfoundedpennsylvaniacommunity-collegeUnfounded
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion