Police say man reported with gun at Catholic University still being sought
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Version 0 of 1. A man who a Catholic University custodian reported had a gun and claimed to be affiliated with the Islamic State remains at large even after police questioned two people and put the campus in Northeast Washington on lockdown twice in 24 hours. D.C. Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier said the individuals who were detained early Tuesday and Tuesday night — one of them a student — have been cleared of any connection to the alleged unusual behavior. Classes resumed late Wednesday morning for the approximately 7,000 undergraduates and graduate students. But at the same time, police have not been able to confirm the report from the custodian about a man he said he saw Monday night armed with a silver handgun. He told police that the man appeared to be Middle Eastern, was in his early 20s, stood about 6 feet tall, had a long dark beard and was wearing a blue sport coat. The custodian told police the man indicated that there was a bomb on campus and that he was linked to the terrorist group. “We are still looking for that initial gentleman,” Lanier said Wednesday. [Catholic University put on lockdown twice in search for man with gun] The successive lockdowns and warnings from the university for residents to “shelter in place” because of a possible armed man on campus have frightened students and parents alike, and nerves remain tense given that the initial complaint remains unresolved. The president of the student government association, Anne St. Amant, called the events “burdensome for students, faculty and staff,” and she expressed frustration at the way updates and information were communicated. Amant said she wants to “clear up any miscommunication that has been given to the student body” and plans on meeting with administrators “to better answer the concerns that students have from these back-to-back lockdown situations.” Lanier said city police officers, along with university staff and security officers, acted appropriately in reporting their suspicions, following up with searches and detaining two people who aroused suspicions. “I think everybody has a heightened sense of security,” Lanier said. “I don’t think it’s to the point of people being scared, but I think they are reporting things and are sensitive to things that appear out of place.” Lanier said that “given the environment that we are in and that we were at a university, everybody acted exactly the way we would want them to.” The initial call from the custodian came Monday about 11:30 p.m.; police said he reported seeing a bearded man with the gun who mentioned a bomb and ISIS. University security locked down the campus shortly after midnight, telling students there was a “suspect with a weapon.” Police later questioned a man and cleared him. The lockdown was lifted about 3 a.m. About 8 p.m. Tuesday, Lanier said a D.C. police officer who was assigned to the campus because of the threat spotted a man with a beard. She said the man “quickly got into a vehicle and appeared to be avoiding the police.” She said that when the officer tried to stop the car, the man got out of the car and the officer lost sight of him. Lanier said that the man was later located in the campus library. During the search, the campus was again put into lockdown. “There was nothing nefarious about him,” Lanier said. She added, though, that the man was driving a car with an out-of-state license plate and that it had not been registered in the District. She said that might have been why the man acted afraid of the officer. Police said that man is a Catholic University student. |