October 6, 2024 – Shots were fired near Tau Kappa Epsilon and Beta Theta Pi early this morning, around 2 a.m. Multiple cars were hit by the bullets, and photos of bullet holes in the walls and windows of adjacent buildings have circulated widely on student social media. Witnesses report hearing at least 12 shots fired. According to local online scanner information, three guns were recovered from bushes near the incident. Many who witnessed the shooting are shaken up. 

One witness, who wished to remain anonymous, was sitting outside when the shooting took place. 

“Around 2am last night, a group of me and my friends were all sitting on the porch, probably six of us, and we heard what sounded like fireworks from that direction,” they said.

According to the witness, the shots seemed to come from an automatic weapon.

“[There was a] quick succession of eight shots at least, definitely an automatic weapon and then another pause [for] four or five seconds and then another round of four shots. It just grazed us, we were protected by the porch,” they said.

The witness also saw people, who they believe may have been the shooters, running through an alley behind Sigma Chi after the last shots were fired.

A video shared with the Wire by another student who wished to remain anonymous shows car windows shattered by the bullets. 

Dean of Students Kazi Joshua confirmed that he was in touch with leadership at Beta Theta Pi. Counseling services have been offered to the impacted community. 

Though the shooting happened in the early morning, the broader campus was not alerted until a security alert was sent at 9:23am.

Vice President for Communications Gina Ohnstad provided a statement to the Wire explaining the process behind sending emergency alerts. 

“Each situation is different, but overall our guiding principles are based on guidance from the Clery Act. This requires the college to send alerts when there is confirmation of an immediate threat to the health and safety of the campus community, that the threat is ongoing, that the threat takes place on campus (the Greek houses are in this category by the Clery definition), and that we can provide advice on actions that people need to take immediately,” wrote Ohnstad, “In the case of the incident last night, information provided by WWPD immediately after the incident indicated that there was no serious or ongoing threat to the campus. Officers were in pursuit of the suspected vehicle quickly after the initial call.”

Ohnstad noted that campus security is conducting additional patrols out of an abundance of caution. 

Director of Security Greg Powell referred the Wire to the campus security alert, noting that the security team immediately responded to Beta upon being notified of the situation. 

Other witnesses who spoke to the Wire reported feeling scared, with one witness even having been woken up by the gunshots. 

The anonymous witness who recalled sitting on their porch during the event said they were happy with the police response once they arrived, but noted that initially security seemed unprepared to deal with the situation. 

“They weren’t the most prepared,” said the witness, “they come to our parties and close down our parties because of a sound ordinance and they’re not even ready to protect us when it comes to actual safety issues.” 

In the aftermath of the shooting, students collected bullet casings and recorded the damage. Multiple photos shared with the Wire by an anonymous students show bullet casings that appear to be from an automatic weapon and another bullet that may have been from a pistol-style weapon. Another photo depicted a large bullet hole in a window of what appears to be a residential building. 

Editor’s Note: The Walla Walla Police Department has not responded to the Wire by the time of publication. This is a breaking news story, updates will be added as information becomes available.