Why were classes canceled in the MTSU Peck Hall? Incident explored as police investigation gets underway

Classes at Middle Tennessee State University were canceled following a death in the MTSU Peck Hall building on Wednesday, November 1, 2023. The Provisions on Demand (P.O.D.) Student Union building as well as other offices in the Peck Hall were closed for the day as well. Classes for the literature and psychology departments were off since the Peck Hall building has traditionally been used for these two departments.

Trigger Warning: This article contains mentions of suicide which might be triggering for some. Readers' discretion is advised.

The MTSU Police Chief, Edwin Kaup, and a spokesperson for Murfreesboro Police and Fire Rescue department, Larry Flowers, spoke about the incident. They said that officers responded to the report of a death on Wednesday morning. Kaup and Flowers added that life-saving measures were also executed on the victim which were unfortunately futile in the end.

It was also declared later that the victim had taken their own life. The officials assured that the campus wasn't under any threats following the death.

In a statement posted on social media, university officials said that the deceased person wasn't an MTSU student or staff member. The man was identified as a contract worker. All activity in the building resumed on Thursday, November 2, 2023.

Following the confirmation of the death, Sidney McPhee, the President of Middle Tennessee State University issued a statement about the incident. Noting that the university's "thoughts and prayers" were with the family and friends of the contract worker, McPhee said that the victim's identity was "pending notification of [the] family."

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A gun was allegedly found next to the man who died at the MTSU Peck Hall

Candace Moonshower is a staff member at the university who recounted what she saw in Peck Hall on Facebook. In her Facebook post, she had added a trigger warning for suicide, blood, and death. She wrote that she arrived at MTSU Peck Hall on Wednesday at around 7:05 am and reasoned that she was an early riser.

She added that she noticed a janitor gathering the trash near the door leading to the elevator but none of the bags had been taken to the dumpster. Candace said that she found this very curious as the janitor usually has thrown the bags ino the dumpster.

A young man's body was discovered on the third floor of the MTSU Peck Hall building. (Image via Facebook/Candace Moonshower)

Upon reaching the third floor of the MTSU Peck Hall building, Candace noticed two of her colleagues standing as one of them tried to call 911. She then looked to her other side and saw a young man lying on the floor and blood was gushing out from beneath his head.

When the first responders reached the MTSU Peck Hall, the young man was still warm according to Candace’s narration. Thus, CPR was performed on him, but in vain as the man had already died. A shell casing along with a gun was found after the EMTs rolled his body. An MTSU staff member said:

“My heart is broken for his family and friends. I’m so shaken, as I know my two friends are too. I will go in tomorrow because my students need normalcy. I’ve always been proud of my peaceful campus and lovely, loving students."

They continued:

"On any given day, 25,000+ people come and go at MTSU and there is rarely even a minor incident. Our campus is a safe place. I don’t have worries about that. But there are folks out there hurting. Hold your loved ones close tonight.”

Police said that the victim entered the MTSU Peck Hall around 3 a., and was all by himself in the building until he was discovered around 7:20 am.

Police Chief Edwin Kaup said:

"Our thoughts and prayers do go out to the family and friends of the victim. We hope that anyone contemplating taking their own life will get counseling and get services that they need. It's always tragic when we lose a member of the community."

The identity of the victim and further details about his death have not yet been disclosed by the police.

MTSU President Sidney McPhee said that the incident highlighted the importance of putting the campus Rave Alert notification system into effect to stay up to date with the ongoing situations that are impacting the university.