By Melissa Boyd (Whetstone Staff Writer)

Contributions by: Morgan McCann, Januel Timothy and Colleen Witowski

Aundre Chambers

Aundre Chambers

Several students heard the shots fired by unknown gunmen outside of Williams Hall during the early morning of Sept. 30.

“I knew exactly what time [it was] because I called my mom at 1:45 a.m.,” Angelique Hill said.

Hill said the sound was unusual.

“It didn’t quite sound like fireworks,” she said. “Perplexed, I called my mom, crying and shaking. I wasn’t used to something like that.”

Diamond Duncan-White also lives in Gooding Hall and heard the shots.

“At first, I was unsure if it was gunshots or not,” she said. “It was pretty loud, but it also sounded as if it could have been maybe a firecracker or two.”

Other students on Duncan-White’s floor reacted.

“The people on my floor immediately reacted by screaming, running in the hall, panicking,” she said.

Duncan-White was sitting at her desk in her room at the time, and said she saw Wesley security and Dover police scanning the area.

“The officers had their flashlights out and they kept circling cars, as if they were looking for something in particular,” she said.

She also said students outside didn’t seem to be shaken up about the incident.

“Everyone walked around as if nothing had happened,” she said. “They went on like it was a regular night.”

Many Wesley students, staff and faculty received a security text message and email alerting them to the incident about nine hours after the shooting.

However, Mary Alice Ozechoski, dean of students, said students received the message at different times because of a technology problem.

Duncan-White said Wesley did a good job waiting to alert students about the shootings.

“They did not want panic throughout the school until they knew exactly what was going on and what they were up against,” she said. “Rumors get spread and situations rise on insignificant information.”

Freshman Michelle Edwards, who lives in Gooding, said she didn’t like receiving the text alert the next day.

“I’m frustrated and disappointed that Wesley didn’t tell us what was going on sooner or assure us about our safety on campus,” she said.

Sam Lyon, a sophomore, agrees with Edwards.