Update 5:40 p.m. ET: Local police have confirmed that the report of gunfire was a hoax, and that Northwestern University’s campus is secure.
Original story: Just hours after students across the country walked out of their schools to protest gun violence, students and staff at Northwestern University were told to hide as police investigated reports of shots fired on campus.A person with a gun was reported to be on the school’s Evanston, Illinois campus on Wednesday afternoon, according to a tweet from the university, which advised people on campus to remain in a safe place or to stay away.
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But Evanston police then tweeted out an update: They’d found “no evidence of a victim, scene, or gunman.”
The authorities’ search for a gunman continued, as the Evanston Police Department spokesperson said they had yet to find the person who’d originally made the report, and people were still advised to stay from the graduate student dormitory where the person with a gun was reported to be.Northwestern students and staff, however, had immediately gone into hiding once the university’s alert went out. Students on campus told the Daily Northwestern that they were in campus buildings that were on lockdown.Read: This is what a nationwide school walkout looks likeThe Evanston Police Department didn’t immediately return VICE News’ request for comment.
Cover image: Northwestern University campus in Evanston. (Chris Walker/Chicago Tribune/TNS via Getty Images)