Search For Possible San Jose State University Gunman Ends Without Incident
SAN JOSE (KCBS) - A tense lockdown at San Jose State Thursday turned out to be an excellent test of new security measures put into place since the Virginia Tech shooting.
Campus police surrounded and locked down Sweeney Hall shortly after 9 a.m., because of what university officials described as a credible report of a man carrying a gun inside the building.
San Jose State Lockdown Tests Procedures Adopted After Virginia Tech Shooting
Officers searched classroom to classroom for nearly two hours, but were unable to locate a gunman. University spokeswoman Pat Lopes-Harris said at least one person was detained and searched, but there were no arrests.
"We did not find the suspect, described as a white male, dark attire, carrying a handgun. So we will stay, of course, very vigilant in the next 24 to 48 hours looking out for this individual," she said.
The search through the classrooms and administrative offices, including the office of the president, took
The lockdown lasted until 11 a.m. because the 300 or so students, staff and faculty had barricaded themselves so well inside some of the classrooms, Lopes-Harris said.
"It took a while, frankly, because they would not open their doors, even when the police came," she said, adding that faculty did an excellent job following training in how to protect themselves from an attack.
"Unfortunately that is the reality of education today, what to do in a situation like this," she said.
Other buildings such as the campus bookstore went on lockdown after the university sent out a text alert to students, faculty and staff at 9:41 advising them to shelter in place. Lopes-Harris later clarified the shelter in place applied only to Sweeney Hall.
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