You know those Halloween costume stories that just won’t go away? Well, here’s another one. A university in Connecticut went on lockdown yesterday after someone reported seeing a man in military gear carrying a gun. As it turns out, there was no gunman–just a 21-year-old college student in a ninja Halloween costume with plastic weapons, including a sword.
Central Connecticut State University issued an alert on Monday telling students to seek shelter and lock their doors. The following image captured by a surveillance camera was provided:
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The news of a man with a gun on campus gave everyone quite a scare, which prompted a flurry of tweets from CCSU’s Twitter page warning students to stay put:
Campus emergency. Seek shelter. Lock doors, close windows. We will communicate when we have more info.This is not a drill. #ccsu
— CCSU (Central) (@CCSU) November 4, 2013
When in your buildings, please stay away from windows, keep quiet, and put your cell phones on silent or vibrate. #CCSU
— CCSU (Central) (@CCSU) November 4, 2013
@CCSU Clarifying — info is officially being released that there has been a report of a suspicious person carrying a gun on campus.
— CCSU (Central) (@CCSU) November 4, 2013
After a three-hour lockdown, police apprehended a suspect, David Kyem, a senior at CCSU. Even though a search of the man’s room yielded no guns, Kyem was arrested and charged with breach of peace. The young man was released after posting a $1,000 bond.
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The suspect’s father, CCSU geography professor Peter Kyem, tried to clear up the matter. He says that David spent the weekend with a friend and was wearing a costume from a party he attended the night before.
“I think people saw him and mistook him for a gunman,” Peter Kyem said. “He was wearing the Halloween costume, and when he got there, he ran to James Hall. They are all costume material plastic, the mask and everything was.” Even though everything was fake, Professor Kyem doesn’t excuse his son’s actions in wearing such a getup on campus and said “It was a stupid thing he did.”
CCSU President Jack Miller released a statement on Tuesday about the lockdown:
“First, you can never be too vigilant nor react too strongly to the threat of violence. All potential threats must be taken very seriously, and the response must be a reaction to worst-case scenarios. Second, as an educational institution we must continue to educate our students and ourselves about the perception of threat. Behavior that causes widespread fear among our students and staff cannot and will not be tolerated.”
Everything is back to normal at CCSU now. CCSU is offering its students the opportunity to reach out to a counselor to talk about the scary incident.
#CCSU students, resident or commuter, can talk to a counselor today. Call 832-1945 for appointment. @CCSURESLIFE
— CCSU (Central) (@CCSU) November 5, 2013
[Images via NBC Connecticut]