The Catholic University of America advised students to shelter in place Monday night, July 29 after a man collapsed and died near the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Northeast Washington, D.C. from an apparent gunshot wound.
The D.C. Metropolitan Police Department reported that the man – whom they have not identified – collapsed just before 8 p.m. as he rode a moped on Michigan Avenue, N.E., near the National Shrine. Police pronounced the man dead at the scene. They said he was not shot in the vicinity of the National Shrine or adjacent CUA.
As of early July 30, the MPD has released no additional details. The shelter in place advisory on the school campus was lifted once it was determined there was no danger to the university community.
“Even though no incident took place on campus, the university asked the community to shelter in place so we could assess a possible threat,” Peter Kilpatrick, president of CUA, said in a statement issued Monday evening. “We canceled the shelter-in-place order once MPD assured us that there were no active threats to our community.”
Kilpatrick said that university officials believe the victim had no connection to CUA and he asked students to “join me in praying for the soul of the victim who lost his life, and offer our prayers and our sincerest condolences to his friends and family.”
Anyone with information regarding the shooting can call the MPD 202-727-9099.
