For the second time in three days, the University of Virginia put out a shelter-in-place order on Thursday via text due to a public safety incident.
“ACTIVE ATTACKER with knife W/M, red hoodie and blue sweatpants reported in area of 100 Emmet ST S, across from Alumni Hall,” read a portion of the alert that went out at 5:26 p.m. on Thursday, February 27.
The message concluded with a three word phrase used by the UVA Department of Safety and Security to signal an active-attacker situation is underway.
“Run-Hide-Fight is a national model that has been adopted throughout Grounds in both the academic division and UVA Health,” reads a website on active-attacker response training.
Another alert described the suspect as being middle aged.
At 5:44 p.m. an alert went out giving the all-clear.
“Active attacker incident is stable. suspect detained. shelter in place is lifted. Police remain on scene. No further updates.”
According to a FAQ on the UVA Department of Safety and Security website, the University of Virginia is required by federal law to provide information to the public.
“The Jeanne Clery Campus Safety Act is a federal mandate requiring all institutions of higher education that participate in the federal student financial aid program to disclose information about crime on their campuses and in the surrounding communities,” reads the website.
The Clery Act requires the publication of what federal law defines as Emergency Notifications and Timely Warnings. The former takes the form of the UVA Emergency Alerts and the latter takes the form of “Safety Advisories.”
Members of the community are encouraged to watch a seven minute video on active-attacker training. That can be viewed on Vimeo.
UVA also publishes a crime log and the case status for this incident reads “transferred to other agency.” (read the crime log)
Charlottesville publishes data on arrests and the portal states that Fry’s Spring resident Edward Conlin Lee was arrested on a malicious wounding charge at 5:37 p.m. on February 27, 2025. (view Charlottesville’s arrest data)
“Initial investigation has revealed that both the suspect and victim were at Wesley Memorial United Methodist Church on Thomson Rd before this incident,” reads a release put out February 27 by the Charlottesville Police Department “There was an altercation that took place and the victim was subsequently stabbed at that location. The victim then walked to the location where he was found approximately a block away.”
Lee’s hearing date in Charlottesville General District Court is on April 10 according to court records.
Other stories written by other Charlottesville-based journalists:
- Update: UVa knife attack suspect in custody, Charlottesville Daily Progress (paywall), February 27, 2025
- UVA emergency incident stable, suspect detained, Caroline Rawlins and Amaya Mitchell, WVIR 29News, February 27, 2025
- Charlottesville police ID stabbing suspect, Charlottesville Daily Progress (paywall), February 27, 2025
- UVA Alert: Suspect in attack on Grounds named, CBS19 News, February 27, 2025
Before you go: This story originally went out in the March 1, 2025 edition of Charlottesville Community Engagement and was posted here a day later.
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