[UPDATE] More Details Emerge in Late Night Hawk Alert in Iowa City; Students Say Panic and Disruption was Understandable

Crissa Toledo, 20, a sophomore, was in a Currier Hall common room at about 10:30 p.m. last night when out of nowhere everyone's cell phones started lighting up.

All of the messages were the same: for a gunman near campus. Advisors told the students, "We are on lockdown," and recommended they return to their dorm rooms and close the doors, she said.

"Everyone was freaking out. All of a sudden 40 phones are going off," said the student from Glenview, Ill. "I was freaked out."

The Hawk Alert blasted through the Iowa City and campus community late Monday buzzing cell phones with text and voice messages, ringing home phones and depositing email into their inboxes.

While the barrage created a panic for some and was a late noisy interruption for others, the general sentiment from the public on Tuesday was this was an understandable precaution in this day and age.

"I was glad to hear about it. I thought it was perfect for what they should do in that situation," said Holly Morris, 22, a graduate student from Knoxville, Ill.

About 45 minutes after the first notice, police sent a follow up Hawk Alert signaling the suspect was in custody and the threat was gone.

University of Iowa officials are calling the incident that prompted the alert a "credible" threat.

Iowa City police initially responded to an incident at about 9:08 p.m. It stemmed from an alleged domestic dispute between a man and a woman near Newton Road, in a heavily populated area of campus housing. The Iowa City activity log lists has an entry stating, "EX IS HARASSING SUBJ, SENDING THREATENING TEXTS" on Newton Road at 8:57 p.m.

A male subject told a female subject that he had a gun and threatened to harm the female and himself, according to Iowa City police. The male had a history of violence toward the female and a history of carrying a weapon in his vehicle, according to UI, and based on this UI police determined the threat was credible at 10:10 p.m., according to the University of Iowa. The university issued the Hawk Alert 17 minutes later.

Iowa City police said the suspect was picked up in Muscatine, but police did not locate a gun. That person, whose name wasn't released, has not been charged, Iowa City Police Sgt. Denise Brotherton said. Brotherton said Iowa City police was not involved in the Hawk Alert and had no comment about it.

UI spokesman Tom Moore said the university is satisfied with how the Hawk Alert was used and how the system functioned.

Some students though said the alert, which only declared police were looking for a man with a weapon near campus, should have included more information.

"I'd prefer that to getting stabbed, but more details would be nice," said Kirk Batterson, 22, a UI senior.

Did you get a Hawk Alert Monday evening? Tell us what you thought.