CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has given the “all clear” after campus was locked down on Wednesday over reports of an armed and dangerous person on or near campus.
The alert system was activated due to reports that a person brandished a weapon at the student union, said UNC Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz in an email to students. University police reported no shots fired, and a suspect is in custody, he said.
The lockdown was in place for more than an hour. Students were told to “go inside now” and avoid windows.
Students are still recovering from the fatal shooting of a faculty member in a science building about two weeks prior.
UNC graduate student Tailei Qi, 34, is being held without bond on charges of first-degree murder and having a gun on educational property in connection with the shooting death of associate professor Zijie Yan. The state’s flagship public university was locked down for about three hours during the Aug. 28 police manhunt that resulted in Qi’s arrest.
Students have since criticized the university for providing sporadic and undetailed information during the campus emergency.
“The news of another armed person and a second lockdown on our campus is concerning and can be traumatic,” Guskiewicz said Wednesday.
On-campus classes have been canceled for the remainder of Wednesday, and all classes will resume Thursday, he said.