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Lockdown At Yale Campus Lifted As Search For Gunman Turns Up Empty

Update 5 p.m.: FAIRFIELD COUNTY, Conn. -- The lockdown/shelter in place order at Yale University was lifted at 4:40 p.m. Monday after a daylong search for a gunman turned up nothing, New Haven Police said. 

New Haven police were investigating the anonymous morning phone call that reported a gunman was on his way to shoot to shoot people at the Ivy League campus. No gunman was found, and police said reported sightings of a gunman were probably of law enforcement officials. 

"The safety of our community is our paramount priority. I want to underscore our collective thanks to the superb mobilization of the Yale, New Haven, and State Police, and the FBI, as well as Yale’s own Emergency Response team," said a statement from Yale Vice President Linda Lorimer. "I know this has been a stressful day for many, and I am grateful for the cooperation and patience of our entire community."

Lorimer's statement detailed the incident. It can be read in full here at the Yale emergency website. 

Update 4 p.m.: FAIRFIELD COUNTY, Conn. -- As the New Haven police chief said he believed the threat of a gunman at Yale University might have been a hoax, the lockdown was lifted except for the Old Campus area, the Ivy League college reported on its website at about 3:30 p.m. Monday.

At a news conference, Police Chief Dean Esserman said he wanted to speak to the person who called in the anonymous threat that brought New Haven to a standstill on Monday. Police were continuing to search hundreds of mostly empty dorm rooms, Esserman said.  

Original story: FAIRFIELD COUNTY, Conn. -- The ongoing lockdown at Yale University and the surrounding area of New Haven began with a 911 call from an anonymous caller that his roommate was "on his way to shoot people" on the Ivy League campus, a police spokesman said at about 1:15 p.m. Monday.  

The call, which lasted only a few seconds, was made from a pay phone on Columbus Avenue, said New Haven police spokesman David Hartman. 

Police were looking at surveillance video to try to identify the caller, who hung up on police dispatchers, Hartman said. 

No reports or injuries or gunfire have been made, he said. But several witnesses reported seeing a man with a long gun, Hartman said, clarifying that it was a rifle or shotgun, not a handgun. But witnesses may have seen law enforcement officers with weapons, not a suspect, he said. 

No description of the suspect was offered, and no one had been detained, he said. 

As heavily armed police officers searched the area, Yale remained on lockdown, which began at 10:17 a.m.

The campus is quieter than usual because classes are out of session for the Thanksgiving holidays, he said. 

Multiple SWAT teams were searches of the residential colleges at Yale. Officers from New Haven, Yale, State Police, FBI and ATF have responded, he said. Heavily armed in tactical gear and carrying assault weapons were searching the campus and buildings.

"The full bore investigation would continue," Hartman said. Using an analogy of a flashlight that dims as it loses power, he said the investigation would "not fade but continue full bore."  

The following road closures were in place, causing huge traffic jams in downtown New Haven:

  • High Street between Elm and Chapel
  • Chapel between High and College
  • College between Chapel and Elm
  • Elm between College and High

Read the first story on the alert here at The Daily Voice. 

This was the second lockdown incident at a college in Connecticut this month. On Monday, Nov. 4, a student in a Halloween costume alarmed other students on campus at Central Connecticut State University. That student was charged with breach of peace. Read about it here at The Daily Voice.

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