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NEW HAVEN, Conn. » A person was taken into custody today and weapons have been recovered following a report of a man near the University of New Haven campus with what appeared to be a rifle, the school said.
After the report came in, the university urged students and staff to stay inside, and several police officers responded to the West Haven school. The university said that police were still searching buildings this afternoon and that the main campus was still under lockdown while restrictions were lifted for its north and south campuses. The university’s evening classes were canceled.
Police said the man had two handguns, but provided no further information.
Kyle Gelinas, an 18-year-old freshman, said he saw a person in handcuffs being questioned by police across the street from his dorm.
"He’s just sitting on the railing. They’re just talking to him like a casual conversation," Gelinas said earlier today. "Everything is very calm."
The university enrolls about 6,400 students. The majority of its 4,600 undergraduates live in university housing.
Police in Fairfield, about 20 miles away, said they checked the home of the person taken into custody at the request of West Haven police, who were expected to conduct a search of the residence. They said the person has a valid pistol permit, issued in April, and has legally owned hand guns as well.
Several nearby public schools issued shelter-in-place orders as a precaution.
The report of an armed man marked the third scare at a Connecticut university in the last month.
Last week, Yale University in neighboring New Haven was locked down for six hours after a man called police and said somebody was coming to shoot up the campus. Police have said that appeared to be a hoax.
Central Connecticut State University was in lockdown for several hours Nov. 4 after reports by witnesses of a masked man carrying a gun or sword. Police arrested a student, David Kyem, who said he had been wearing a ninja-like Halloween costume and meant no harm. He faces charges including breach of peace.
