Virginia Tech issues lockdown following report of gunman on campus

Blacksburg, Va.

— No one was allowed to leave buildings on Virginia Tech's campus today after police issued a mandatory lockdown following a report of a man walking on campus carrying a handgun.

Just after 9 a.m., three juveniles attending a camp at the college reported the man to police, describing him as a white male, 6-feet-tall with light brown hair outside of New Residence Hall East.

Officers responded immediately but did not locate the suspect or other witnesses. Still, law enforcement is patrolling the campus and have asked everyone on campus to remain secured in buildings. By late afternoon, the university cancelled all classes for the day and asked students not to come to campus. Police also released a composite sketch of the suspect. The lockdown ultimately was cancelled shortly before 3 p.m., but police urged the Virginia Tech community to report any suspicious activity.

The Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine is southwest of where the gunman was reported and was believed to be impacted by the campus-wide lockdown.

A spokesperson for Virginia Tech, said during the lockdown that she hasn’t been in touch with anyone at the veterinary college, but she believed the whole campus was impacted by the action.

“We’re still locked down, and of course the veterinary college is on campus. It’s quite a ways from where this alleged sighting was. But I’m sure they’re shut down, too,” she says.

Virginia Tech officials report they are not taking chances, remembering the 2007 massacre at the school that left 32 dead and another 22 people wounded before the shooter killed himself.