The gun-wielding figure captured stalking around the University of Massachusetts Lowell campus — prompting a lockdown on the first day of class — has been identified as a juvenile who was carrying an airsoft replica firearm, police announced on Thursday.
The minor, whose name was withheld due to his age, was seen creeping around the college campus brandishing a mock firearm held as if he were preparing to start a school shooting, according to video footage taken by students sheltering in place.
The Lowell Police Department received reports of a person possibly armed with a gun just before 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday, the first day of classes for undergraduate students.
All classes and events were cancelled for the rest of the day as swaths of law enforcement officers, including FBI agents, scoured the campus for the reported threat. No expense was spared as authorities also dispatched a drone, K9s, and a police air unit.
The lockdown order was lifted just over two hours after the threat was reported as authorities “determined the suspect was no longer in the vicinity,” UMass Lowell wrote in a statement.
The entire time, not one shot was fired, Lowell police added.
The investigation continued into Thursday when Lowell police recovered the replica weapon from a juvenile male.
“While the reported firearm in this case was ultimately determined to be an airsoft gun, our community can be certain that, as in this case, the Lowell Police Department will always utilize all available resources until the safety of all involved is assured,” Lowell Police Superintendent Greg Hudon said in a statement.
It’s unclear how authorities tracked down the baby-faced faux gunman or what he was doing on the campus in the first place.
Initial reports described the suspect as a “5’5 Asian male wearing a gray or white sweatshirt and black shorts carrying a long weapon” that many originally suspected was an AR-15.
Lowell Police assured that, because there were no shots fired, the ordeal was not “an active shooter situation.”
The public research university is located roughly 45 minutes north of Boston with a student population of around 12,000.
The lockdown came just two weeks after false shooter reports caused chaos at multiple colleges during move-in weekend, including two at Villanova University.
It’s unclear if the minor is facing any criminal charges for the false alarm.
Read the full article here