Students in the Lincoln Residence Hall on Washburn University’s campus woke in the early morning of April 23 to the sound of gunfire.

Alexis Werner, freshman forensic investigations major, was among those who heard the noise.

“I heard the shots around 1:40 a.m. and thought to myself, ‘Maybe it was just fireworks,’” Werner said. “I stayed up a little longer to hear sirens from police, firefighters and ambulances.”

Werner heard an emergency response team called to the scene of a shooting at an apartment complex on 15th Street, which left one man dead and one other man injured.

Washburn University Police Department Captain Matt Simpson said an officer was dispatched to watch for any signs of the shooter near Washburn.

“Our officer stood by at the corner of 17th and Washburn to ensure the safety of the campus,” Simpson said.

Simpson advised students to exercise caution in light of the attack.

“It’s important for students to stay informed so they know if there is a potentially dangerous situation happening nearby.” Simpson said. “We strongly encourage everyone to sign up for iAlert by going to washburn.edu/ialert. Thankfully, in this case there wasn’t an immediate threat to the campus, but if there had been, an alert would have been issued.”