One Person In Custody Following Campus Emergency At CCSU

NEW BRITAIN, Conn.  – One person is in custody following the sighting of an armed man who prompted a lockdown at Central Connecticut State University, officials said.

New Britain Mayor Timothy O’Brien said the suspect is in the custody of campus police.

School officials said police have given the all clear and students were allowed to leave the buildings, CCSU tweeted.

An armed man was spotted on the campus of Central Connecticut State University on Monday, prompting a schoolwide lockdown and warnings for students to stay away from windows as police SWAT teams swarmed the area.

The university declared a campus emergency and an hour later, its website continued urging students to remain inside buildings.

“Emergency situation remains. Shelter in place. Police continue to search for suspicious person,” the message said.

Lt. J. Paul Vance, a state police spokesman, said university police asked for assistance related to a report of a suspicious person. A road leading onto campus was closed.

“Somebody was seen either with a gun or was thought to have a gun,” University spokesman Mark McLaughlin said.

The area around a 400-student dorm was the focus of the police search, but by mid-afternoon authorities were allowing students to leave the building in small groups.

Jordan Governale, a 20-year-old junior from Farmington, said he walked by a man carrying a backpack and with a sword and sheath strapped to his back. 

The man was wearing a mask, camouflage pants, knee pads and a vest resembling body armor, Governale said.

A minute later he said he saw police responding.

“At first I thought it was a Halloween costume. But after I saw the cops I thought it was some sort of threat,” he said. “It’s

pretty scary. It’s pretty strange, unexpected.”

New Britain Mayor Timothy O’Brien said there were no reports of injuries.

“It’s an active situation. We have very capable personnel on scene,” he said Monday afternoon.

More than 12,000 students attend the university outside Hartford, which has a 182-acre campus. Classes have been canceled for the rest of the day.

New Britain police did not immediately respond to requests for information.

Two New Britain schools near the campus were also locked down as a precaution, according to the superintendent’s office.