Campus Alert Archive
Vanderbilt

Contractors' Altercation Turns to Gunfire Outside Unoccupied Vanderbilt Dorm, Triggering Run-Hide-Fight Alert

TNshootingemergency notificationhigh confidence
Confirmed Threat

On August 10, 2024, an altercation between external contractors performing maintenance at Sutherland House, an unoccupied Vanderbilt residence hall, escalated into a shooting that left two people with non-life-threatening injuries. The AlertVU system notified the campus at approximately 4:43 PM CDT with a Run-Hide-Fight directive.

Alerts
2
Response
—
Killed
0
Injured
2
Institution
Vanderbilt University
Private R1 · TN
~13,800 studentsAlertVU
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

2 messages in sequence · 2 verified verbatim

INITIAL ALERTSMS
Verified verbatimAlertVU official archive (alertvu.vanderbilt.edu) and confirmed across multiple news sources including Vanderbilt Hustler, WSMV, WKRN, and WATE quoting the alert verbatim137 chars
ALERT! A shooting has been reported near the Vanderbilt campus at Sutherland. – RUN, HIDE, FIGHT – Police are responding! Avoid the area!
Verbatim AlertVU text confirmed from alertvu.vanderbilt.edu official archive and independently corroborated by Vanderbilt Hustler and multiple Nashville TV stations (WSMV, WKRN, WATE)
Sutherland House at 1900 South Drive was unoccupied at the time as students had not yet moved in for fall semester
The em dashes surrounding RUN, HIDE, FIGHT are part of the original alert text, not hyphens; the Run-Hide-Fight directive is the standard active shooter protocol used in AlertVU messages
UPDATESMS
Verified verbatimWKRN and multiple Nashville news outlets directly quoting the AlertVU page update posted by approximately 6:00 PM CDT on August 10, 202480 chars
The suspect has been apprehended. There are no ongoing threats to the community.
Verbatim AlertVU page update confirmed across multiple Nashville TV stations (WKRN, WATE, NewsChannel 5) and the Vanderbilt Hustler, all quoting 'The suspect has been apprehended. There are no ongoing threats to the community.'
By this point, VUPD had taken two suspects into custody at the nearby MAPCO gas station on 21st Avenue South
The update omits the word 'Sutherland' or 'campus' — unlike the initial alert which named the building — a tighter all-clear framing
Context

Background

On a Saturday afternoon in August 2024, before students had moved in for the fall semester, an altercation broke out between external contractors performing maintenance at Sutherland House, an unoccupied residence hall at 1900 South Drive on Vanderbilt's campus. The dispute escalated into gunfire, leaving two people with non-life-threatening injuries, including a 19-year-old man shot in the arm. The AlertVU system activated a campus-wide Run-Hide-Fight notification at approximately 4:43 PM CDT, about 13 minutes after the shooting was reported. Metro Nashville Police responded and took five people into custody, including Luis Enrique Ramirez Sandoval, 38, who was found with a firearm and charged with aggravated assault, and Jose Humberto, 27, charged with facilitation of aggravated assault for allegedly retrieving the gun before the shooting. The Vanderbilt Hustler reported that the incident renewed community concerns about campus safety, particularly given Vanderbilt's prior AlertVU controversy over a delayed alert for a nearby MAPCO gas station shooting just weeks earlier.
Analysis

Key Findings

AlertVU was activated within approximately 13 minutes of the initial report, a significant improvement over a delayed alert for a MAPCO shooting weeks earlier
The shooting involved external contractors, not students or university employees, at an unoccupied dormitory
Five people were taken into custody, with two formally charged with aggravated assault and facilitation
Outcome
Two men were arrested: Luis Enrique Ramirez Sandoval, 38, was charged with aggravated assault after a firearm was found on him, and Jose Humberto, 27, was charged with facilitation of aggravated assault. A total of five people were taken into custody. Two victims sustained non-life-threatening injuries.
Provenance

Sources

  1. Official
    AlertVU Official Archive — August 10, 2024 (Vanderbilt University)
    alertvu.vanderbilt.edu
  2. Student Paper
    BREAKING: Shooting at Sutherland House leaves two injured, five arrested (Vanderbilt Hustler)
    vanderbilthustler.com
  3. Student Paper
    Vanderbilt community reacts to on-campus shooting (Vanderbilt Hustler)
    vanderbilthustler.com
  4. News
    3 injured, 2 in custody after shooting near Vanderbilt dorm (WSMV)
    wsmv.com
  5. News
    Shooting reported at Vanderbilt dorm building (WKRN)
    wkrn.com
Tags
shootingworkplace-violencecontractorsrun-hide-fighttennesseealertvuprivate-university
Added April 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion