Saint Anselm debunks false reports after student shot in Oregon - a reminder to get crisis updates right on social

Saint Anselm College moved quickly to correct online rumors after 21-year-old student-athlete Maverick Lyon was shot by police responding to a domestic call in Albany, Oregon. The dean of students confirmed Lyon is hospitalized with serious injuries and explicitly refuted circulating claims of his death. Albany Police said in a social post that two officers fired at a subject armed with a knife; the individual received on-scene aid and was transported to a hospital. The officers are on administrative leave per policy, and an independent investigation is underway. Local press identified Lyon as the person shot. No other injuries were reported.

The key takeaway here: speed matters, but sourcing matters more. Saint Anselm’s clear, on-record update functioned as a single source of truth that social teams, students, and local media could anchor to, while police supplied procedural facts that reduce speculation. What this means for creators and community managers is straightforward: pause resharing until there’s an official statement; then update in lockstep with verified timelines. If you previously posted unverified claims, correct them visibly-edits, pinned updates, and timestamped follow-ups beat quietly deleting and hoping the feed forgets.

Worth noting for brands and campuses: have a crisis playbook that covers (1) who posts first and where, (2) a concise facts-only template (status, what’s known, what’s not, next update), (3) coordinated cross-posting and comment moderation, and (4) social listening to catch fast-spreading inaccuracies. The bigger picture is that high-sensitivity incidents will always attract rumor cycles; institutional accounts and local news remain the stabilizers. Keep tone empathetic, avoid gratuitous detail, and link only to authoritative sources. In short: be first with facts, not first to post.