False Alarm Causes Cal State Campus Lockdown

Carson, CA (AHN) - An ROTC student performing drills with a training weapon caused a complete lockdown of California State University Thursday.

It was only after almost an hour that officials determined that the man was a student of the school's ROTC Program, preparing for a scheduled drill. The weapon he was carrying, although a real one, had been disabled.

"ROTC was doing a drill and apparently they didn't notify campus police," LA Times quoted Sgt. Larry Thompson of the local sheriff's department.

Thompson added that no arrests were made after the incident.

The 45-minute lockdown was announced as authorities responded to witness reports, and combed through the campus in search of an individual who matched the description given by students.

Thompson said that the incident was "good training" for them, although he said that ROTC officers should have made the school aware of the scheduled training that involved simulated weapons.

According to Xinhua, notice of the lockdown was put up on the school's website, stating that "The campus is closed and classes are canceled until further notice due to an emergency situation on campus. Students, faculty and staff are asked to stay at home."

The determination of the false alarm led the notice to be replaced by "it has been determined that there is no longer a threat on campus."

The alarm raised by the mistaken account was amplified by a series of campus shootings across the country, with the most recent being the one in Northern Illinois University, resulting in five dead victims and the shooter's suicide.