WASHINGTON – No gunman was found after George Washington University students received an alert Monday night warning that a man with a gun was possibly headed toward campus.
“We get alerts once a week, but we’ve never been evacuated like that. It was scary when it happened,” one student who was evacuated from the university’s Gelman Library tells WTOP.
University spokesperson Candace Smith says the Secret Service originally reported the sighting and that an emergency text and email were sent to students around 9:45 p.m.
About an hour later, a student in Gelman Library reported to police that someone changing clothes matched the suspect’s description.
Secret Service and Metropolitan Police officers swarmed the library, evacuating students shortly after 11 p.m. Many were studying for their mid-terms.
Students inside the library at the time tell WTOP an announcement was made over the loudspeakers.
“The floors were swarmed with officers, so you knew something was up,” one student says.
“I was on the fifth floor and they came through with their huge guns,” says another.
After a 30-minute search, police reopened Gelman Library without finding the suspect. A second email was sent to students to let them know the library reopened.
Secret Service declined to comment on the incident. See the university’s tweets from Monday night below.
WTOP’s Michelle Basch and Ari Ashe contributed to this report. Follow WTOP on Twitter.
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