Manchester Community College Lockdown: Emergency Declared On Campus After Report Of Gunman

Manchester Community College in Connecticut was placed on lockdown Wednesday afternoon, after police said a student reported seeing another male student carrying what she believed was a gun on campus.

According to the Hartford Courant, the police investigation began around 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, when the campus was evacuated and students and staff were told not to re-enter. At 2:13 p.m. students and faculty were reportedly sent an emergency notification notifying them of the situation.

The alert read: "This is an emergency message from Manchester Community College. An emergency has been declared on campus. Do not attempt to gain access to the campus. An order to shelter-in-place has been issued. Additional information will be broadcast as soon as it is available."

In a phone interview with the Connecticut Mirror, college President Gena Glickman reiterated the police’s message that students should remain off-campus, but said no shots had been fired.

"They are going from classroom to classroom," Glickman said. "We had a [emergency drill] practice a couple weeks ago. So this went pretty smooth."

Manchester police Capt. Christopher Davis confirmed to the paper that the report had come from a female student, who told police she believed she had seen a fellow student carrying a gun in the waistband of his pants. After receiving the report, police immediately flocked to the campus and conducted a search of the school buildings.

During that search, a weapon was reportedly fired by accident and an officer responding at the scene was wounded. The Courant reported that witnesses saw the officer being escorted from the college, visibly limping.

A Connecticut NBC affiliate later reported that all classes had been suspended for the day. Glickman also sent a separate notification to faculty, letting them know that the investigation might continue into the evening, even after everyone had been evacuated. At 5 p.m. she said the lockdown remained in effect.

In an e-mail she wrote that Manchester Police had "indicated that it may take until early evening to wrap up the situation even after the buildings are cleared.”

Although a neighboring magnet high school, Green Path Academy, was also temporarily placed on lockdown that measure had been lifted as of the afternoon. David Medina, a spokesman for Hartford Public Schools, said that students were safe.