Airsoft Gun Sparked Massachusetts Faculty Campus Lockdown, Cops Say

Seems the gun that despatched a Massachusetts school campus into full lockdown mode wasn’t actual in any respect — cops say it was an airsoft duplicate carried by a juvenile, sparking hours of chaos and concern throughout campus.

The scare erupted Wednesday on the campus of UMass Lowell when video circulated on social media of an individual close to a dorm holding what seemed like a firearm. College students instantly barricaded themselves inside school rooms and residence halls whereas closely armed cops swarmed the college.

On Thursday, Lowell Police confirmed the weapon had been recovered and it was nothing greater than an airsoft gun. The suspect, a juvenile, has since been recognized.

Police stated surveillance and pupil video captured the suspect, however no photographs had been fired. Legislation enforcement defended the huge response, stressing that whereas the weapon proved to be an airsoft gun, police will all the time deploy each useful resource till the neighborhood’s security is secured.

The panic comes amid a string of latest mass shootings throughout the U.S., leaving colleges, campuses and communities on edge. Simply final week, two kids had been killed and at the least 20 others injured when a gunman fired greater than 100 rounds by means of the home windows of a Minneapolis church throughout morning Mass.