KINGSTOWN, R.I. (WHDH) — An audio recording of the man behind a gun scare at the University of Rhode Island has been released.
SWAT teams and state police swarmed the campus Thursday looking for a possible shooter. The school was put on lockdown for more than two hours, but no gun was ever found.
A student who was using their laptop to record a lecture picked up the voice of a man yelling, “I’m a nice guy, I have a gun.”
The Rhode Island State Police superintendent says investigators are trying to identify the person whose comments outside a University of Rhode Island lecture hall sparked a scare about a possible gun and prompted a campus lockdown.
Col. Steven O'Donnell told The Associated Press on Friday that police have interviewed hundreds of people in their investigation of what happened in Chafee Hall Thursday. He says a person apparently knocked on an auditorium door and said something some inside believed was "I have a gun."
O'Donnell says police listened to audio but couldn't tell. The comments prompted chaos inside, and students fled.
O'Donnell says police continue to interview students and hope the individual comes forward.
There is speculation the man heard in the audio clip was just participating in a “Human versus Zombies” game played on campus.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.