Phu-Qui “Bill” Nguyen, suspect detained during last week’s shooting scare on Mississippi State University’s campus, was transported by MSU Police to Baptist Memorial Hospital in Columbus, Mississippi for psychiatric evaluation and treatment. 
Sid Salter, Chief Communications Officer at MSU, said Nguyen withdrew according to university policy and was not expelled.  
MSU Police Chief Vance Rice said during an initial phone call with Nguyen, a recruiter in Jackson, Mississippi, took notes during the call and gave them to someone in their office to contact the police. This is when Nguyen’s venting was confused with an imminent threat. 
According to Rice, MSU PD did not hear Nguyen’s exact quote until after he had been arrested and therefore acted swiftly and accordingly given the information they were given by Mississippi Highway Patrol (MHP) regarding an “active shooter” on campus. Rice explained there were no reported injuries from the scare itself. 
No charges have been filed and Nguyen has been admitted to a psychiatric facility in Jackson. 
Rice said the initial “active shooter” alert on Thursday was sent within five to six minutes of receiving the call from MHP. 
Though it turned out Nguyen was not actually an imminent threat, Mississippi Code § 41-21-67(5) states “Whenever a [designated professional] has reason to believe that a person poses an immediate substantial likelihood of physical harm to himself or others … by virtue of mental illness, then the [designated professional] may hold the person or may admit the person to and treat the person in a licensed medical facility, without a civil order or warrant for a period not to exceed seventy-two (72) hours.” 
This law allowed for the arrest in good faith of Nguyen and the transport to a mental health facility. 
Though Salter did not specify which type of withdrawal process Nguyen was allowed to use, MSU policy gives students and faculty two options depending on the circumstance. 
There is the normal withdrawal process students may initiate themselves and also a special withdrawal process for involuntary withdrawal without expulsion for mentally ill students who “engage in behavior which is immediately harmful to others; or is unable to meet reasonable institutional standards of conduct; and in which there is serious question about the student’s appreciation of the nature and quality of the behavior(s) in question.” This process may be initiated by the recommendation of professional staff, after a student refuses to voluntarily seek mental health care. 
 Students may make an appointment with or walk in to speak with the counselor on duty at the Student Counseling Services located in Hathorn Hall for an appointment on Monday through Friday between the hours of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. to discuss anything from a stressful test , roommate problems or suicidal thoughts. 
A student having suicidal thoughts may be referred to outside mental health care or stay within the counseling services depending on the severity of the concerns and the discretion of the counselor involved. Students may also call for the counselor on call after hours by calling the MSU Police Department and asking to speak with the counselor.
The Division of Student affairs has developed a Critical Incident Response Team (CIRT) to respond to incidents such as the one on Thursday. Critical incidents, as defined by Student Affairs Operating Policy 91.312, may be reported to MSU Police or the Dean of Students.