A West Virginia University student was cited for possession of an air gun after a campus-wide lockdown and alert was issued Saturday.
An emergency alert was issued via text message and the MIX email system at 12:08 a.m. Saturday in response to reports that an armed individual was spotted on North High Street. University Police responded to the scene and alerted the Morgantown Police Department, who responded, following the suspect to a fraternity house located off-campus.
The all-clear was issued at 1:18 a.m. after officers determined the weapon was a BB gun and seized it from its owner. No injuries were reported and no shots were fired.
"Once we knew the weapon in question was an airsoft gun and not a real firearm, and that the person did not have a weapon, we sent out a follow-up text alert that it was all clear," said University Police Chief Bob Roberts.
The UPD is responsible for issuing all text alerts related to emergencies and inclement weather on campus.
Roberts said the text-alert system is made available to all students as well as anyone interested in receiving the alerts.
"Once a student receives the alert, it is important they follow up, and do what the alert says and stay where they are, if they're safe," Roberts said. "We're going to need to work on some things when locking down the residence halls, but overall I think it went pretty well."
Roberts said he was concerned about the rumors surrounding the incident reported online through social media websites like Twitter and Facebook.
"People who are using social media need to not report rumors or create rumors because it creates issues for us to have to deal with," Roberts said.
The UPD introduced the text-alert system two years ago. The alert system notifies students using "Emergency Alerts," "Crime Alerts" and "Weather Alerts."
"Anyone can sign up to receive the alerts," said WVU spokesman John Bolt. "We issue them for incidents like Friday night as well as potential crime alerts and information that needs to get to students right away."
Bolt said the alerts are sent to the nearly 100 information screens across campus as well as MIX and the University home page.
"The police make a determination as to whether there is an immediate threat on campus," Bolt said. "It doesn't necessarily need to be a crime. If a chemical leak were to occur in a building, for example, an alert may be issued."
The University did not release the name of the student involved in the incident. The Morgantown Police Department is still investigating the incident.
To sign up for the WVU text alert system, visit www.emergency.wvu.edu.
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