DI Staff

The University of Iowa Police Department has arrested one person following the false report of an active shooter at Burge Residence Hall on Oct. 15, according to a press release.

UI student Harrison Tsimouris, 18, and a resident of Burge, was arrested at 7:46 p.m. on the same day after admitting the text message he sent was intended to be a prank. He was charged with filing a false report to a public entity.

Scott Beckner, the assistant vice president and director of the UI Department of Public Safety, said in the release that the incident was not only a crime, but a highly irresponsible action that put students, staff, and officers at risk.

“Although we are trained to handle these scenarios safely, mass evacuations create additional safety hazards. Students exiting the building could have been seriously injured by running and squeezing through doorways or falling down steps,” Beckner said. “Only by the orderly exiting by our students, an appropriate response by officers and staff to assist, and luck did we not have reports of students physically injured during this incident.”

Tsimouris was taken into custody for questioning on Oct. 15 after telling a friend via text message that there was an active shooter in Burge as a joke, which prompted the friend to report the incident to police.

Upon arriving on scene, UI Police quickly determined there was not a threat, after the student who reported the incident called police back to say his friend was joking. UI Police then began an investigation and brought both students in for questioning.