The college went into lockdown for over an hour last Friday after gunfire was reported near Pearl Street. The suspect, Twyleak Sexton, who was reported to be on the Arts Campus, was apprehended in New Jersey three hours after the lockdown began.
“The lockdown was initiated because he was so close, and when our officers had lost sight of him, the worry was that he climbed the hill and ended up somewhere up on campus,” Lieutenant Joseph Alonzo of the Easton Police Department said.
Andrew LaGreca ‘26 was driving away from campus at 5:45 p.m. when he saw police cars by the car wash on Bushkill Street.
“I saw a man just run across the street back towards the Arts Trail and I thought he was carrying a gun, but I couldn’t really tell,” LaGreca said. “I didn’t believe what I was seeing. Immediately after he crossed the street, two or three police cars called him back.”
A text message initiating the lockdown was sent to Lafayette community members at 6:09 p.m. Sirens blared across campus as students were warned to stay inside over the college’s PA system. According to Alonzo, the lockdown was initiated 15 to 20 minutes after the call that there was a shooting came in.
Will Reynolds ‘24 was working at the front desk of the gym when the lockdown started. He said that while everybody was on edge, most students seemed to remain relatively calm.
“You could tell people were … seeing that something was wrong,” Reynolds said. “But during the whole thing, people were still remaining calm. Everyone who was working there was doing a really good job of staying calm and organized.”
President Nicole Hurd said the administration was rethinking crisis protocols prior to the lockdown.
“We’re redoing our whole crisis communications piece,” Hurd said. “We were in the process of doing that when Friday happened. We’ve got some training coming.”
Hurd said that the college is prioritizing communication and clear instructions going forward with regard to lockdown situations.
“We’re also going to go through and make sure that students and faculty and staff know what to do because there’s confusion in these moments,” Hurd said. “And if we don’t come up with training and implementation, there’ll be even more confusion.”
While Easton Police searched for the suspect, Public Safety assisted in its efforts during the time of the lockdown, according to Director of Public Safety Jeff Troxell.
“Lafayette Police Officers immediately responded by going toward the threat to assist EPD and protect the perimeter of the campus,” Troxell wrote in an email. “Additional Public Safety officers and staff were notified and responded to campus to assist with patrols, dispatch calls and other duties.”
Sexton allegedly shot a woman with whom he was in a previous relationship. He was arrested in Phillipsburg, New Jersey and has been charged with criminal attempt to commit homicide, two counts of aggravated assault, illegal possession of a firearm and two counts of recklessly endangering another person, according to The Morning Call.
In 2020, Sexton was charged with attempted homicide in Paterson, New Jersey for allegedly shooting a man; he served 18 months in prison after a plea deal, according to WFMZ.
“The most important thing is we’re all safe,” Hurd said.
Madeline Marriott ‘24 and Jenny Davis ‘26 contributed reporting.
