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Tulane

Library Shooting Off Tulane's Downtown Campus Triggers Clery Safety Notice

LAaggravated assaulttimely warninghigh confidence
Confirmed Threat

On April 7, 2023, two non-Tulane individuals fought over a firearm at the New Orleans Public Library near Tulane's downtown campus, and the perpetrator shot the victim twice in the chest before fleeing toward LaSalle Street. The victim, later identified as 72-year-old Alvin Stalling, was pronounced dead at University Medical Center at 2:44 PM CDT. Tulane's Department of Public Safety issued a Clery Act safety notice for aggravated assault by shooting in Clery-reportable geography near the Murphy and Tidewater buildings.

Alerts
1
Response
Killed
1
Injured
0
Institution
Tulane University
Private R1 · LA
~14,000 studentsTU Alerts
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

1 message in sequence · 1 verified verbatim

INITIAL ALERTEmail
Subject: Safety Notice – Aggravated Assault by Shooting – Downtown Off-Campus On April 7, 2023, at approximately 2:20 pm, the Tulane University Police Department learned that an aggravated assault by shooting had occurred on Loyola Avenue in front of the New Orleans Public Library. Two non-Tulane affiliated individuals inside the library became involved in an altercation that became physical in nature, and during the encounter the two began to fight over a firearm which resulted in the victim being shot twice in the chest. The perpetrator fled down Gravier in the direction of LaSalle and then unknown. Members of the Tulane community are reminded to be aware of your surroundings and whenever possible, travel well-lit, busy routes.
Verbatim text from the publicly archived TUPD Safety Notice PDF dated 04/07/23
TUPD learned of the incident at approximately 2:20 PM CDT, and the safety notice was sent shortly thereafter
Although the alert described the victim as 'shot twice in the chest', the victim, 72-year-old Alvin Stalling, was pronounced dead at University Medical Center at 2:44 PM CDT — only minutes after TUPD learned of the shooting
The notice did not name the suspect; suspect Lance Morris Lewis was later identified through a witness photo lineup and booked on second-degree murder
Tulane's downtown medical campus sits adjacent to the New Orleans Public Library at 219 Loyola Avenue, placing the incident inside Clery geography for the downtown campus
Context

Background

On Friday, April 7, 2023, the Tulane University Department of Public Safety issued a Clery Act safety notice describing an aggravated assault by shooting at the New Orleans Public Library, immediately adjacent to Tulane's downtown medical campus. According to TUPD, two non-Tulane individuals became involved in a physical altercation in which they fought over a firearm; the perpetrator shot the victim twice in the chest before fleeing west on Gravier Street toward LaSalle Street. The New Orleans Police Department investigated. Tulane's crime alerts archive preserves the safety notice as a PDF, making this one of the rare cases where a verbatim Clery notice is publicly accessible. The downtown campus, anchored by the Tulane School of Medicine and Tidewater Building, sits within walking distance of the public library at 219 Loyola Avenue, and the 2023-2024 Annual Security Report reflects this notice in Clery-reportable categories.
Analysis

Key Findings

Tulane is one of the few US universities that publicly archives full safety-notice PDFs, allowing verbatim Clery alert text to remain accessible years later
The notice illustrates how Clery's continuing-threat trigger applies to off-campus violence in immediately contiguous public space
Even when neither party is university-affiliated, a violent crime in Clery geography requires a timely warning if the suspect remains at large
Outcome
The victim, 72-year-old Alvin Stalling, was transported with two gunshot wounds to the chest and pronounced dead at University Medical Center at 2:44 PM CDT. Suspect Lance Morris Lewis, 29, was later arrested and booked on second-degree murder, aggravated assault with a firearm, aggravated second-degree battery, and possession of a firearm by a felon. Neither party was affiliated with Tulane.
Provenance

Sources

  1. Official
  2. Official
  3. Clery ASR
Tags
aggravated-assaultshootingtulaneprivate-r1louisianadowntown-campusclery-safety-noticeoff-campus
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion