On Dec. 19, 2023, Aaron Brown was taken into custody by the Springfield Police Department for making terrorist threats, including to individuals at Missouri State University.

As the individual began making statements of concern, the university worked with officers from the Springfield Police Department substation. We also worked closely with the employees who were directly impacted by the statements and increased security measures as warranted. If there had been an imminent threat, we were ready to make an emergency notification to the campus to provide actions to take. Fortunately, it did not get to that point.

Even though he remains in custody, we recognize this may be concerning for those who work and attend MSU. To address those concerns, we are providing information on the conditions the court imposed for his release:

• Brown is prohibited from:
  • Having contact with any of the involved individuals.
  • Being within 1,000 feet of any involved individual, their residence or place of employment/education.
  • Being on the campus of Missouri State University.
  • Possessing a firearm, ammunition or other deadly weapon, or having such weapons in the residence or vehicle.
  • Possessing or using alcohol or any state or federally-controlled substance without a physician’s prescription.
• He must wear a GPS location monitoring device.
• The provider of the GPS location monitoring device must immediately call 9-1-1 to report any:
  • Device tampering.
  • Traveling into an exclusionary zone and requesting a well-being check.

This provides a good opportunity to remind our campus community of important safety measures.

• Report concerning behaviors:
  • For emergencies, call 9-1-1, then Campus Safety at 417-836-5509.
  • Report threatening behavior to Campus Safety at 417-836-5509.
  • A Behavioral Intervention Team (BIT) referral can be made for incidents that are not urgent.
• Review the university’s Emergency Action Plans.
• Watch the safety training videos.
• Sign up for in-person emergency preparedness training.
• Ensure your Missouri State Alert contact information is accurate.
• Follow the Safety First blog for updates.

If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to contact David Hall, director of University Safety at 417-836-8444.