Incident: 26/04/2021

UPDATE

28/04/21, 16:30: Crawley College will begin a phased reopening to students from tomorrow, Thursday 29 April. The phased reopening will take place between tomorrow and Tuesday 4 May.

Read more about the college’s phased reopening here.

————————————————

27/04/21, 17:05: Thank you for your patience and support over the last 24 hours. Crawley College will remain closed tomorrow, Wednesday 28 April.

We have arranged access to  the campus for students and staff who need to collect vehicles and personal belongings.

The campus will have restricted access for collection during the following times:
Today (Tuesday 27 April) from 5.00pm – 7.30pm
Tomorrow (Wednesday 28 April) from 8.30am – 3.30pm

If you are just collecting a vehicle and have keys, please access the site via the Longley Car Park and collect your vehicle.

If you are collecting personal possessions from inside one of the buildings, please report to the STEM reception building. Members of staff present will ask for a description of the items and their location and will then seek to retrieve these for you. They will then log the items which you will sign for to note that you have collected. You will not be able to access the buildings yourself and staff will do their best to locate what you need.  Our thanks again for your understanding.

————————————————

27/04/21, 15:55: Following the incident at Crawley College yesterday (Monday 26 April), Vicki Illingworth – Crawley College Principal – has shared a statement. Read Vicki’s statement here.

————————————————

27/04/21, 15:15: We continue to assist the police with their investigations. Crawley College will remain closed on Wednesday 28 April. We will provide a further update as soon as this is available.

————————————————

27/04/21, 09:25: At just after 3pm yesterday, the police received reports of shots being fired on College Road, Crawley. Police and armed police were swiftly on the scene and a man was detained with the help of staff from the College. A firearm and knife were seized at the scene.

Two members of our staff at Crawley College sustained minor injuries during the incident but these were not gun shot wounds. Both members of staff have received treatment and will make a full recovery. In the aftermath of the incident, students and staff were evacuated to a safe space whilst the police carried out a thorough search of the campus and buildings. The College will remain closed today (Tuesday 27th April) as we continue to assist the Police with their enquiries. 

Our priority is and will remain the safety of our students and staff and we will continue to work closely with Sussex Police in respect of their investigation. At this stage, all lines of enquiry remain open. We appreciate what a traumatic experience it must have been for all who were involved at Crawley in both the incident itself and the subsequent lockdown. We would like to thank everyone for their support and resilience during the course of yesterday afternoon and evening – including the Police and emergency services. We will be offering counselling services to our students and staff.

————————————————

26/04/21, 20:15: Further to the incident on Monday 26^th April, the College will be closed on Tuesday 27^th April whilst we continue to support Police with enquires.

Further information will follow when available.

————————————————

26/04/21, 16:30: We are aware of an incident at Crawley College this afternoon.

Sussex Police are currently present on the scene and a man has been detained.

We are awaiting further information from the Police.

At this time, we are not aware of any serious injuries.

Our priority remains the safety of students & staff.