LEWISBURG, Pennsylvania – The Bucknell University community is mourning the loss of a popular senior student who was found dead on campus shortly after a false active shooter alert was issued. The student, Christian Samay, 22, was discovered in his frat house on Saturday in what college officials claim was an unrelated incident. The cause of Samay’s death has not been determined.
Following the tragic news, students at the liberal arts college have been organizing a vigil on the campus quad to remember Samay. The university had recently been on spring break, so there were many students on campus when the news broke.
Samay, a politics student from Mountain Lakes, New Jersey, had been working as an intern at investment banks over the past three summers. He was just a few weeks away from graduating when he passed away. Samay was also serving as the Treasurer of the Phi Gamma Delta society at Bucknell University. His body was discovered by university staff.
In an official statement, Bucknell University President John C. Bravman expressed condolences to Samay’s family and friends, emphasizing that his death was unrelated to the active shooter alert and campus lockdown that had occurred the previous night.
The campus had been put on lockdown on Friday evening after an alert was issued about an active shooter. It took over 45 minutes for the alert to be lifted and for police to confirm that there was no immediate threat to the campus. Subsequent investigations revealed that the call was a hoax coming from Virginia.
The death of Samay has deeply affected the Bucknell community, prompting counselors and campus chaplains to be made available to students. Classes were canceled on Monday, allowing everyone time to process the tragedy.
An ongoing investigation is being carried out by the Union County Coroner’s Office, with an autopsy scheduled for Tuesday to shed light on the circumstances surrounding Samay’s death.
Bucknell University, located in rural Pennsylvania, has approximately 3,700 undergraduate students and is ranked 81st among universities in the United States, as per the latest Wall Street Journal rankings. It counts renowned author Philip Roth among its alumni.