Marshall University Officials Attempt to Stop Text Message Rumor
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Updated: 9:10 PM Nov 11, 2009
Marshall University Officials Attempt to Stop Text Message Rumor
A text message rumor in reference to the officer involved shooting in a downtown Huntington night club went viral over night and into Wednesday -- and Marshall University officials say it's not true.
Posted: 1:03 PM Nov 11, 2009
Reporter: Chris Olsen
Email Address: news@WSAZ.com
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HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) -- Marshall University officials say a text message warning students to avoid certain area of Huntington this weekend is not true.

The university issued a statement Wednesday on that mass text message sent to a number of athletes, students in the greek system, and others Tuesday night and Wednesday morning.

Some of the texts indicate the information was confirmed by the officials in the athletic department -- but that's not true.

The text is in reference to that officer-involved shooting in a downtown Huntington night club last weekend.

WSAZ.com does have a copy of the text message. One person told WSAZ.com they received the text five times in an hour Tuesday night.

Here is the statement released by Marshall University that went to all students and staff:

    “Following last weekend’s incident on Fourth Avenue, there are many rumors being spread through text messaging. Marshall University and its Athletic Department have not issued a formal statement or response to this incident. Such information should be considered erroneous. However, as we always strongly suggest to our faculty, staff and students, they need to be aware of their surroundings at all times and take great care, especially at night. We are in contact with the Huntington Police Department and other law enforcement agencies regarding any threat to our campuses. We are making this statement to prevent rumors from creating a false and unnecessary state of panic.”

The statement also included a correction to what had previously been reported to the media about one of the victims in the weekend shooting.

Marshall confirmed that “none of the individuals involved in last weekend’s incident were past or are present students of Marshall University.”

Latest Comments

Posted by: Be Real on Nov 15, 2009 at 09:04 PM

Let's be real. There are plenty of people in Huntington with rap sheets a mile long and the cops haven't shot them. Cops don't just go around shooting people. It's sad that so many people are bashing the HPD for what happened. Let's be logical for one minute...what's more likely; an officer who has undergone training as well as a series of psychological tests and background checks runs into a club and decides to randomly shoot someone. OR the officer runs into the club and finds a man with an extensive rap sheet, orders him to surrender a weapon and shoots when he refuses. Oh and one more thing, the guy wasn't identified until AFTER the cop shot him so the cop didn't know he had a rap sheet until after the fact. So then wait, if the cop didn't know he had a rap sheet why did the cop shoot him? Maybe it was because he was doing something illegal like pointing a gun at an officer... C'mon people stop making excuses for this guy and thank the police for making huntington safer.
Posted by: Anony on Nov 15, 2009 at 04:51 PM

Look, quit bashing HPD. This town is in serious trouble and the ones on here bashing the cops are the exact reason this town is the way it is. i'll say it once... huntington needs to step up and stop allowing this stuff to happen. The citizens need to step up and stop allowing this activity to happen. lets face it. it is a college town, but why is it a ghetto college town? You can live on the nicest side of huntington, but go one street over and it is the ghetto. i dislike huntington for many reasons and ive grown up here, yet we have these negative elements that are not being addressed. shooting after shooting keeps happening and will keep happening until one day we will eventually get our heads together and take a stand against the criminal activity in this town. Marshall must also take responsibility for its students, who in fact are supporting the criminal activity by buying weed and whatever else. It is a shame. Someone needs to intervene NOW! What we are doing is not working.
Posted by: Mark on Nov 14, 2009 at 12:48 AM

I think we should all ban together and walk the streets of 4th Ave. in solidarity. This is just like terrorism, they want us to be scared and prevent us from doing are day to day activities. Why let a text rumor disrupt your everyday life? Who are these crack heads that are bringing us down? I want to party on Sat. nite, cause I'm a drunk and I want to have fun this week end.
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