Rutgers University-New Brunswick emergency drill sparks student complaints

NEW BRUNSWICK, New Jersey (WABC) -- Some Rutgers University students are complaining on Twitter about a text alert during an emergency drill on campus.

The university sent emails to students and the community earlier this week alerting them to a police training drill Thursday morning at the library in New Brunswick.

The drill included a tweet during the exercise Thursday, warning of an armed suspect in the area and urging people to seek a safe space and shield themselves.

At the bottom of the message, it said "test, test." A few minutes later, another alert was sent, saying the drill was over.

In a statement later Thursday, Michael J. Rein, deputy chief of university police, said the message was part of a planned emergency exercise and that there was no threat to Rutgers.

"We recognize that the wording of the initial message caused some concern and alarm amongst recipients; however the message was sent only to test the University's Emergency Notification System (ENS)," it said. "University Public Safety will be making necessary changes to protocols for future training exercises."