STARKVILLE, Mississippi. August 27, 2015(UPI) — An alleged active shooter reported on the Starkville campus of Mississippi State University early Thursday morning has been apprehended.
The suspect, whose identity and motive remain unidentified, was apprehended just before 11:30 a.m. No injuries were reported, and it is possible that the shooter did not actually fire any rounds.
A male wearing a T-shirt and shorts was arrested.
The suspect was first seen at the campus’ Carpenter Hall, which houses its mechanical engineering department. The suspect was later spotted at Lee Hall, which houses the student affairs administrative offices, a copying center, telecommunications offices and classrooms.
Students were instructed to stay indoors if on campus and to stay away from the campus if they were not. A spokeswoman for the university’s police department said she is unsure whether campus police would be the sole department in charge of investigating the incident.
Classes will resume at 2 p.m. today.
A Twitter profile maintained by the school named MSU Maroon Alert (@maroonalert) echoed the university’s safety instructions to students, but some updates caused confusion.
One such update, “Classes are suspended until 2pm. Don’t not attempt to leave classroom. Stay indoors. Do not attempt to go to your vehicle,” triggered replies such as “that’s a joke right?” and “STOP TELLING PEOPLE TO REMAIN CALM AFTER THIS. People have a right to be affected.” Another user replied “you need to have somebody issuing these alerts who can do so w/o typos; the messages are incoherent.”
The profile’s last update, as of 9:58 a.m. Thursday, read “Again. No additional reports of injuries. Please remain calm.”
Michael Bonner (@MikeBBonner) also provided updates on the situation, tweeting information imparted to him by students on campus.
