New Haven Register NewsWEST HAVEN >> Police and the University of New Haven confirm that a person is in custody after a report of a possible armed man sent the campus into lockdown Tuesday afternoon.
Police said the man in custody is the only suspect and that he was apprehended walking near campus.
“We have one person actually in custody; weapons were recovered,” said Sgt. David Tammaro, but he stressed that a rifle has not been recovered. “We’re still looking for that right now,” Tammaro said.
The person in custody had two handguns on him when he was arrested, Tammaro said.
“Right now, the threat is contained to this particular area (campus and immediate surroundings),” Tammaro said. A shelter-in-place remains at the University of New Haven as law enforcement officers search through buildings.
A flatbed tow truck carried a gray-blue Toyota RAV, believed to be the suspect’s vehicle, out of the ShopRite parking lot. “He (the person in custody) is an off-campus student, not a residential student,” Tammaro explained.
Sgt. Suzanne Lussier of the Fairfield Police Department said the suspect is believed to live in a home on 1336 Stratfield Road with his parents. “Our officers were sent there at the request of the West Haven Police to check on the safety of the residents. We’re trying to determine if there are any other weapons in the home.”
Lussier said the suspect has a valid pistol permit, issued in April. However, “you cannot legally carry a long gun out in public.”
Lussier confirms the man was a commuter student from Fairfield. The FBI is also searching the home in Fairfield.
Police spoke to the suspect’s mother and are awaiting a search warrant from West Haven police who will execute a search, Fairfield Chief Gary MacNamara said.
The house is not far from the Mobil gas station and old Stratfield Market site. The scene remains calm and under control, sources said.
Police were alerted when someone called 911 to report seeing a man with a rifle get out of a car in the ShopRite parking lot, at Campbell and First avenues. Ammunition magazines were found in the car, police said.
A “methodical search is taking place” of the buildings, according to the university.
The university says afternoon classes have been canceled and a decision on evening classes held after 6 p.m. will be made by 4 p.m. The “shelter in place” will continue until further notice.
The University of New Haven sent this message via Twitter at about 1:30 p.m.: “WHPD has reported an Asian male near South Campus with what appears to be a rifle. SHELTER IN PLACE and await further instruction.”
Police at University of New Haven and from the city of West Haven walked through the campus telling everyone to “shelter in place.” This was in addition to emails and texts with the same message. A faculty member said police reported seeing the male in question walking up Rudin Street on the edge of the campus off Campbell Avenue.
Forest Elementary and Carrigan Intermediate schools have lifted the “shelter in place” status and dismissal is to continue as usual. Notre Dame High School via Twitter says “When ND does dismiss for the day, students MUST be picked up from the Terrace Ave parking lot. Dismissal time is not available at this time. Those adults picking up students are asked for patience as we expect traffic buildup and delays. The bus companies have been informed.”
At about 1:25 p.m., a state police dog was spotted following a trail from the ShopRite lot up First Avenue toward UNH. Six marked West Haven police cruisers and a UNH cruiser were in the lot, with officers standing by near the sidewalk.
VIDEOS: West Haven Police speak on lockdown / Police activity at ShopRite
What a sad state our nation is in. All out force driven by controlled fear. I don’t recognize my country anymore.
Like I always say about these “events”,
“Here we go again!”
“WEST HAVEN >> Police and the University of New Haven confirm that a person is in custody after a report of a possible armed man sent the campus into lockdown Tuesday afternoon.”
That’s NOT called a LOCKDOWN!!! It’s called setting up a perimeter or cordoning off an area.
Enough with the Communist propaganda!
“Lock down: the confinement of prisoners to their cells for all or most of the day as a temporary security measure ”
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lock%20down
The students are NOT PRISONERS IN A CELL!! Enough with the misuse of words! It’s a cordon off of an area. That’s it! Stop using misguided/fear-mongering type words in your articles!
GRR!!!! This is a major pet peeve of mine.