The University of Rhode Island has been put on lock down after police received reports of a gunman on campus.
No injuries have been reported.
The school issued a warning early this morning and told students to stay indoors.
The school wrote on its website : “We are investigating a report of a man with a gun in or around Chafee Hall on the Kingston Campus. Secure yourself indoors (not Chaffee), stay there, and do not move about outside until further notice. The emergency alert system has been activated.”
At 11:45, they reissued their warning saying that the campus had not been cleared and that classes had been cancelled for the day. The school said that it was also posting updates to Facebook and Twitter since it was receiving a huge amount of traffic on its website.
The school wrote on Facebook : “Campus has NOT been cleared. Precautions remain in place and investigation continues. No injuries have been reported. Stay where you are, indoors, until further notice. As a precautionary measure, all classes are cancelled today on the Kingston campus only.”
It doesn’t appear like any shots were fired on the campus and several students sent messages to the school’s Facebook and Twitter accounts asking if the lock down was just a drill.
As a precautionary measure, all classes are cancelled today on the Kingston campus only.
— URI (@URINews) April 4, 2013
@ gansettpatch @ uriprobs Definitely not a drill. Investigating reports of person with gun. No injuries reported.
— URI (@URINews) April 4, 2013
Rhode Island State Police Superintendent Colonel Steven O’Donnell said: “A phone call was made in the last hour from the URI campus reporting an active shooter on campus. URI, South Kingstown Police, and State Police were dispatched to respond to the situation. At this time, we have no further evidence to support the report and are responding to the incident.”