Toy gun sparks campus scare

The University community experienced its third gun scare in five months on Monday morning before officials determined the object in question was a toy water gun.

The incident began just after 8 a.m., when a University employee saw what they believed to be a male with a possible weapon walking near McCosh Hall and Washington Road, University spokeswoman Cass Cliatt '96 said in an e-mail.

The employee did not have a cell phone or radio but "reported to a supervisor (who had access to a phone) what he had seen, and that it might be a toy," Cliatt said, adding that the supervisor then contacted Public Safety and relayed what the employee had seen.

Officials sent out a safety alert to members of the campus community via e-mail, text message and phone at around 8:08 a.m. A message was also posted on the University homepage at 8:24 a.m.

"Public Safety felt it was prudent to err on the side of caution upon receiving the initial report," Cliatt said. "The employee ... could not immediately be reached, but when the employee was located, he gave a very detailed description of the item he had seen. He said the item had a fluorescent tip and was bluish in color, which confirmed that it was a toy."

Officials then announced an "all clear" on the homepage at 8:34 a.m. and through messages to the University community just before 9 a.m.

Cliatt said authorities are still looking for the male who was carrying the toy water gun, but she added that "given the open nature of our campus for casual visitors and pedestrians -- we recognize the possbility that we won't locate him."

This is the third incident since early spring in which officials alerted the public to a possible gun threat on campus. The first occurred early on the morning of March 7, when officials alerted the University community to the presence of a gunman near Spelman Halls. Then on June 3, the campus went on lockdown for almost an hour after a gunman was reported near Dod Hall.