At 9:04 a.m. on Sept. 18, the Keene State community was forwarded an emergency email announcing a shelter-in-place. The email stated that Campus Safety had received a request from the Keene Police Department to enforce a campus lockdown, as a result of an ongoing police investigation. While the email did include a brief description of a suspect [a person dressed in dark clothing with a red beard and neck tattoos], many students felt afraid and unaware of the situation.
First-years Josephine Finno and Kalista Sicard said they found out about the shelter-in-place through alternative sources. Finno said the phone call from Campus Safety woke her up, and Sicard had received a text message from her boyfriend.
Finno said, “I texted my mom right away. We’re obviously a public campus, so anybody could just walk around here. It’s definitely different from being in high school, because when you’re there, you’re already secluded in a building.”
Sicard added, “I looked out my window, and saw that some people just left to walk their dog. They had to sit in a little circle, in the back walkway behind Owl’s Nest, because they probably didn’t know where else to go. Everyone’s key cards got shut off.”
Additionally, both Finno and Sicard said that their housing being closer to Walmart made the situation more nerve-racking.
The suspect, Patrick Allen Boyer, was arrested in the Riverside Plaza Walmart by Keene police and state troopers on Sept. 18. Prior to his arrest, Boyer was the subject of a two-day-long search that extended across the Monadnock region. In addition to Keene State’s lockdown, other schools in surrounding areas activated their emergency protocols, and residents of both Nelson and Stoddard were advised to remain in their homes. Authorities had deemed Boyer as “potentially armed,” but there has been no official confirmation of him actually possessing a weapon.
According to My Keene Now, Boyer appeared in court on Sept. 21. He was a previous offender, with a record including aggravated domestic assault with a weapon, domestic assault and violating conditions of release. After prior charges, he was sentenced to prison and released on parole in August 2025.
In relation to the two-day search, he was accused of stealing a gray 2026 Honda Civic, a white International tractor-trailer and a blue GMC Sierra without authorization. He was also accused of fleeing from police on foot and while operating the Honda Civic, where he allegedly reached speeds close to 100 mph, crossed into oncoming traffic and didn’t stop for police emergency signals.
Junior Tyler Widman said that after he got the call from Campus Safety, he checked his email and returned home. He said he woke up his housemates and texted a few group chats, where most people said they didn’t know what was going on.
“It’s definitely concerning and scary, because this is the world we live in. I thought about when I first moved in, I got an alert saying there was a shooting on Main Street. So there was kind of a moment of thinking, oh, this is happening again,” said Widman.
In regard to the possibility of future similar situations, Sicard suggested that Campus Safety send out updates if things change during a shelter in place. She said that someone could’ve gotten the message that campus was unsafe, and chosen to stay in their previous location, which may have been where the suspect was.
After the first email and phone call were sent out, the Keene State community received a follow-up at 9:26 a.m. that confirmed the conclusion of the investigation. The lockdown and shelter in place were lifted, and normal operations resumed.
Boyer currently faces 15 criminal charges from his recent offenses. Second-degree assault involving strangulation and domestic violence, criminal restraint, two counts of reckless conduct involving a deadly weapon, two counts of theft by unauthorized taking, as well as multiple counts of resisting arrest and disobeying police officers. His charges include incidents in Keene, Nelson, Stoddard and Sullivan.
Boyer was ordered by Judge Patrick Ryan to avoid contact with his alleged victim, as part of a criminal bail protective order. A probable cause hearing was scheduled for Sept. 30 in Keene, but there has been no recent commentary from Boyer’s lawyer.
Samantha Menard can be contacted at
smenard@kscequinox.com
