College locked down after student with glue gun mistaken for armed man

HAMILTON, N.Y. — A New York college was locked down for hours Monday night after a student reported seeing what appeared to be an armed man on campus.

The armed man turned out to be a fellow student carrying a glue gun for an art project, officials at Colgate University said early Tuesday.

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Campus safety officers were called just before 8 p.m. after a student spotted a man walking into the O’Connor Campus Center with what the student thought was a gun, interim college dean Mark Thompson said.

University safety officials immediately sent a pair of announcements to students, including one that warned of an “active shooter on campus,” Colgate University President Brian Casey said Tuesday.

Police were called to investigate the report. In the campus center, officers found a Colgate student who brought a glue gun with him for an art project, Casey said.

The lockdown was lifted around midnight after police confirmed that the report was a case of misunderstanding.

Casey apologized to students and called the mistaken active shooter warning a “profound error.” He promised a full investigation of the incidents that led to Monday night’s lockdown.

“It is important that we understand the role that implicit racial bias had in the initial reporting of and responses to the events of last night,” Casey said, noting that the initial report described an armed black man walking into the campus center. “I want to make sure we speak with those who made and received the initial report to understand the role this played.”

Campus Safety Director Bill Ferguson, who handled the school’s security response Monday night, has been placed on administrative leave as the investigation into Colgate’s response continues.

Cox Media Group