WASHINGTON- American University was briefly on lockdown Wednesday evening, but police later determined there were no threats.
The lockdown began shortly before 8 p.m. when American University tweeted that a man with a gun was spotted on campus. They also tweeted a photo of a couple, asking anyone who’d seen them to contact authorities but not approach.
But around 9:15 p.m., the lockdown was canceled. Police determined that the man was an off-duty police officer.
“They saw a holster and, this time in age, people get concerned,” said Lt. Jesse Porter with the Metropolitan Police Department.
“There were no shots. There were no threats. There were no injuries to anyone.”
Porter said campus was put on lockdown as a precaution as they investigated.
American University issued the following statement at 10:30 p.m.:
At approximately 7:55 p.m,. American University Public Safety received a citizen’s report of a man with a gun on an AU shuttle bus. An AU emergency alert was sent immediately putting the campus on lockdown while Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) and AU Public Safety investigated. A photo was distributed by AU Public Safety which brought several leads and eventual identification of the individuals in the photo.
No crime was committed. MPD confirms that one of the individuals in the photo is an off-duty police officer. The individual in question is not an AU Public Safety officer.
“American University thanks the entire AU community for their cooperation during this incident. Every student is safe tonight. In this case, someone saw something and said something. The system worked,” said Camille Lepre, assistant vice president of communication.
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