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OREM — A woman was charged Friday with causing a panic on the campus of Utah Valley University by claiming there was an active shooter.
Alyssa Melanie Foreman, 23, is charged in 4th District Court with making a false emergency report, a third-degree felony.
On Nov. 28, Foreman ran into a cafe in the Utah Community Credit Union Event Center on the university campus "and yelled that there was an active shooter and that they needed to run or hide," according to charging documents. "Witnesses stated that (she) seemed scared and crouched down to hide behind some cooking equipment."
Foreman then ran away, but people in the cafe locked the doors and covered the windows, the charges state.
Once outside, Foreman continued saying there was an active shooter, hid behind nearby bushes and screamed for help, according to police.
Multiple offices responded to the area as the events center began locking down. But "when officers arrived, they could not hear shots or signs of panic in bystanders," the charges state.
Police located Foreman, who initially tried to run away from them. She "stated that she was going to be killed and that she was not safe" and that "she had seen two males who had guns and were threatening to shoot her. (She) then stated the males were not holding guns but their hands were in their pockets and they told her they had guns," according to the charges.
But Foreman could not say where she was when she saw the men or what the men were wearing. No gunmen were found in the area and employees who reviewed surveillance video did not find anything similar to what Foreman claimed, investigators said
Police also noted they believed Foreman was "hallucinating," according to the charges.
