Tense week at UNC Wilmington after conflict over Kirk tribute, campus threats
UNC Wilmington faced a tumultuous week on campus after a conflict over a tribute to Charlie Kirk drew national attention, and days later, false reports of a gunman prompted a lockdown and canceled classes Friday.
Officials said Saturday that classes would resume Monday under “enhanced security measures” after Thursday’s false alarm of a possible armed shooter on campus. UNCW police will maintain an increased presence at main campus entrances and conduct more foot patrols, while “additional law enforcement” will step in to maintain a presence on campus as well, the university said.
In the latest update, UNCW also said it was working with the State Bureau of Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Investigation to investigate “an online threat actor responsible for recent disruptions affecting our institution and others.”
UNCW said it couldn’t provide additional details because of the ongoing investigation, but said officials “are not aware of credible threats.”
Residence halls, meanwhile, remain staffed with “regular on-call support, security staffing and increased campus police rounds.”
The tumultuous week at UNCW that shook the campus with reports of a possible gunman, as well as of a bomb threat, both of which turned out to be untrue, began with a conflict over a tribute painted in honor of Kirk, the conservative activist who was assassinated on a college campus in Utah last week.
The conflict occurred Tuesday morning when students who had painted a “spirit rock” — one of two large boulders on campus that students routinely paint messages on — were confronted by another group of students who wanted to repaint the rock.
UNCW police said the interaction between the two groups became confrontational, and students who wanted to paint over the tribute poured paint onto the rock, over the objections of the students who made the tribute to Kirk, according to WECT.
On Monday evening, UNCW’s chapter of Turning Point USA, the conservative youth organization Kirk founded, held a vigil for Kirk that was attended by more than 1,500 people, according to the university.
UNCW chancellor ‘appalled’ by incident involving Kirk tribute
University policy regarding displays on the sprit rocks encourages the campus community to “allow messages to remain on the rocks for 24 hours before painting over them.” The policy recommends noting at the base the rock the date and time of the most recent message, to give everyone the chance to wait 24 hours before changing the display. The university notes, however, that it “does not monitor such compliance.”
UNCW Chancellor Aswani Volety, responding to the conflict over the tribute, said he had watched video of the incident and was “appalled.”
In a statement Thursday, Volety said he had confidence after Monday’s “moving, peaceful and meaningful” vigil for Kirk that “our university would engage in civil, vigorous discourse about recent events’ impact on our campus, community and nation.”
“Unfortunately, I have been profoundly disappointed in how we’ve allowed this tragedy to tear at the bonds that make us who we are,” Volety said. “The conflicts on our campus in recent days don’t reflect who we’re called to be. We are better than this.”
Volety said he considers it his “sacred duty” to ensure not just the physical safety of every member of the UNCW community, but also “their ability to learn and express themselves without fear.”
“The ability to truly hear those who think differently isn’t just academic — it’s what democracy requires,” Volety said in his message to students. “You wrestle with complex ideas every day in your classes. Bring that same intellectual courage to political disagreement. All eyes are watching how we handle this moment of accountability.”
Campus later received false reports of bomb threat, gunman
The heightened tensions were exacerbated Thursday evening, when UNCW officials issued an alert saying university police had received “unconfirmed, anonymous reports via social media regarding a subject with a gun on campus.”
The alert, which went out at 7:19 p.m., advised everyone on campus to shelter in place while UNCW police investigated the reports. Volety said in a later message that hundreds of law enforcement officers responded to the campus to investigate the reported gunman, which turned out to be a false alarm.
At 9:58 p.m., nearly three hours later, UNCW issued an “all clear” alert stating that there was “no active attacker on campus.”
The university cancelled all classes on Friday.
In a message Thursday night after the lockdown was lifted, UNCW said multiple reports had come in “claiming an armed attacker was on campus.”
“The reports have been investigated and found to be untrue,” officials said. “We intend to thoroughly review each of these sources and provide more details in the coming days.”
A day earlier, on Wednesday evening, the UNCW Library was evacuated and a campus alert was issued after the university received an email suggesting that a bomb may have been placed in the building. Officials said campus police along with local law enforcement and canine teams inspected the building and surrounding area.
“No evidence of a threat was found, and the report was determined to be unfounded,” UNCW said.
Alert was issued after receiving report ‘from a credible individual’
In a video message to students Friday, Volety said “the very sanctity of our campus home has been violated, and I am angry for this violation.”
Volety said he spent the “tense and stressful” three hours sheltering in place, waiting for the all-clear, at UNCW’s Burney Center with 35 members of faculty, staff, and students.
Volety said that while UNCW received a series of anonymous reports and tips about a gunman on campus, officials only sent out the campus-wide alert after “a report from a credible individual was received.”
“While yesterday was a challenging day for all of us, I want you to be assured that your safety and well-being are paramount to me, and our community at large,” Volety said.
UNCW’s Board of Trustees also issued a statement Friday, saying they were “deeply disturbed by the actions that compromised the safety of our campus community.”
The board said it was “committed to ensuring that those responsible are held fully accountable.” It praised the university’s handling of the “recent incidents on campus,” and said it “stands firmly behind Chancellor Volety’s leadership.”
This story was originally published September 20, 2025 at 6:12 PM.
