LOWELL, MASS. (WHDH) - The University of Massachusetts in Lowell is stepping up security as classes resume Thursday, after reports of someone with a gun on campus put the school on lockdown Wednesday, the first day of classes.
Video of a man walking near a dorm room with what looked like a gun triggered a campus lockdown, with students barricaded inside dorm rooms and lecture halls and officers swarming the campus.
“Personally my heart was beating out of my chest,” said freshman student Harlem Meade-Draves. “I didn’t know what was going on some people were crying some people were panicking.”
UMass Lowell police confirmed video recorded by a student, along with surveillance camera on a residence hall, picked up the suspect; they said no shots were fired.
After about three hours, police determined the suspect had left the area.
Hundreds of students poured out of classrooms when the lockdown was lifted around 5:15 p.m.
Authorities were not able to find the man or determine if he had a real gun.
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