Airsoft Gun Sparked Massachusetts College Campus Lockdown, Cops Say

Turns out the gun that despatched a Massachusetts faculty 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 worry 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 appeared like a firearm. 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 mentioned surveillance and scholar video captured the suspect, however no photographs have been fired. Law 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 current mass shootings throughout the U.S., leaving colleges, campuses and communities on edge. Just final week, two kids have been killed and a minimum of 20 others injured when a gunman fired greater than 100 rounds via the home windows of a Minneapolis church throughout morning Mass.