Gunman reported on Fla. university campus

School briefly locked down, but armed man never found

Video: Education

Iranian-American goes from grad student to government threat
Nov. 24:Esha Momeni, an Iranian-American student who was jailed in Tehran for protesting the country's elections, has returned to the U.S. and talks about her time in prison. NBC's Ali Arouzi reports.

Where was the first Thanksgiving?

Students too fat to graduate?

Vitter: Louisiana a capital of charter schools

Principal pushes students to recover, soar

Breaking news alerts (about 1 per day)
Click here to sign up or text NEWS to MSNBC (67622).

Find more alerts at alerts.msnbc.com

NBC Field Notes

NBC News correspondents and producers across the U.S. shed light on the news of the day.

Photo features

Reuters	The Week in Pictures A starry night, cat’s mouth, a lighthouse stands tall, bear attack, a sea of balloons, H1N1 reaction and more news and feature photos from around the globe.
Reuters	PhotoBlog View and discuss the pictures and issues that caught our eyes.

updated 3:26 p.m. ET July 24, 2009

TAMPA, Fla. - Students and staff at the University of South Florida were told to stay indoors Friday after a man called police to say he was on campus with a gun, but authorities never found him and no shots were fired.

University police got a call about 12:15 p.m. Friday from the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, which said a man had called a crisis hot line to say he was in a parking lot next to a campus bioscience building. He said he had a gun and was willing to use it, said Maj. J.D. Withrow, assistant chief of the university police.

Authorities swept the area but found no one with a gun.

Story continues below ↓

advertisement | your ad here

About 15 minutes after the got the call, the university sent a mobile emergency message telling some 55,000 people to stay inside with their doors locked. They were notified an hour-and-a-half later that they could return to their normal activities.

Jon Catuccio, who works at the school, said he heard over a loudspeaker that a gunman had been reported at the bioscience building in the heart of campus.

Click for related content

Report blasts FEMA on trailer formaldehyde
Poll: Palin’s favorability dips as she nears exit
Mass. police unions ask Obama for apology

He said he got an e-mail with the same information and everyone was “kind of hanging out” and waiting to see what happened.

Student Lawrence Stawkowski, 24, saw three helicopters flying around and said an alarm went off every 15 minutes.

“I wasn’t too afraid,” he said. “I was just surprised, a little shocked.”

The late summer term just ended, so there were fewer students than usual on campus, said Allyson Stanfill, 21, who was stuck inside a lab across the street from the bioscience building.

Discuss Story On Newsvine
Rate Story:
View popularLowHigh
Email
Instant Message
Print