Seven students were trapped in an elevator in the M building at the Liberal Arts Campus for 40 minutes according to police.
“It was an elevator malfunction, all students are safe and there was no serious medical attention needed,” Tiffany Griego, police officer said.
Students were trying to reach their classes when the elevator broke down and trapped them on the third floor.
“Being on the third floor was scary because we didn’t know if we were gonna come down very fast or anything,” Shai Channel, a student who was stuck in the elevator said.
The elevators of the M building have a history of malfunctioning since the building’s construction during the pandemic.
One of the students began to panic and became anxious as the elevator doors would open and close.
After nerves had settled, the students that were trapped made a TikTok in the elevator.
The door would crack open aggressively for about 20 seconds and then close. This happened repeatedly the whole 40 minutes the students were in the elevator.
The body heat of the students caused the inside of the elevator to rise in temperature. Students claimed to have heard different loud noises coming from the elevator.
Griego stated the doors were pried open for students to exit the elevator.
Students initially called the fire department, but police responded to the scene.
“The call wasn’t made to the police to come assist with the fire department until 11:55 a.m.,” Kevin Stinson, campus officer said.
Professors that were on the third floor, where the elevator was stuck, were helpful and talked to the students the whole time they were in there to make sure the students were safe and not injured.
Elevator technicians declined to comment when asked about the incident that occurred.