Suspect in UO hostage situation arraigned on charges of coercion, carrying concealed weapon
The Eugene man accused of holding two University of Oregon students hostage was arraigned Friday on charges of coercion with a firearm, unlawful possession of a firearm and trespassing.
Shawn Densmore, 37, allegedly held two students hostage in UO's Hamilton Hall dorm for hours early Thursday morning before he was arrested. The students eventually were able to alert police of their whereabouts and no one was hurt, UO Police Chief Matt Carmichael said.
Densmore was arraigned Friday on two counts of coercion with a firearm, as well as illegal possession of a firearm for carrying a concealed gun and trespassing. UO police initially charged him with illegally carrying a concealed firearm, criminal trespassing, burglary, kidnapping and menacing.
More: Two University of Oregon students held hostage for hours in dorm room by armed man
The episode began around 3 a.m. Thursday when Densmore allegedly pulled a fire alarm UO Knight Law Center, Carmichael said at a news conference later that day.
Responders found no evidence of a fire, but UO security footage showed a man pull the alarm while holding a gun and "acting erratically," Carmichael said. Officers from multiple police agencies responded before evacuating and locking down the building.
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The Lane County Sheriff's Office and Springfield police searched the building using a drone and a dog before a 6:30 a.m. UO alert asked the community to avoid the area.
Carmichael said "odd" 911 calls started coming in shortly after that.
The calls were coming from the same cellphone reporting incidents from different areas of campus, Carmichael said. The phone belonged to a student being held in the dorm.
"We quickly determined this individual had left Knight Law School and had gone to Hamilton dorm, where he detained a student and a guest in their dorm room for a couple of hours," Carmichael said at the news conference.
After the suspect left the room, the texting from the student helped lead police to the suspect, Carmichael said.
Contact reporter Adam Duvernay at aduvernay@registerguard.com. Follow on Twitter @DuvernayOR.
This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Suspect in University of Oregon student hostage situation arraigned
