UPDATE: 4:24 p.m.

A tense afternoon at a locked-down Central Connecticut State University campus in New Britain ended at 3:17 p.m. Monday with three people in custody and the sounding of an all-clear siren.

Police in tactical gear searched the campus in New Britain at midday in response to reports of a suspicious person, but a university spokeswoman said rumors of shots fired were false.

A “campus emergency” was declared just before noon as State Police, New Britain and campus police responded to the James Hall, one of the larger dorms on the campus. Police responded to campus after someone reported seeing a suspicious person on campus carrying a gun. Nearly three hours after the incident began, police were seen escorting one male in hancuffs away from the dorm.

“Remain inside buildings. Stay in buildings! Stay away from windows,” an emergency message on the school’s website during the lockdown read in bold red letters.

Janice Palmer, a spokeswoman for CCSU, said that a “campus emergency” involves anytime someone on campus has been threatened. She said there have been no reports of injuries.

During a press conference after the incident, police officials said that no weapons were found and no charges have been filed.

Follow CCSU’s official twitter page here for live information from the school.

The university also used Twitter to signal an end to the drama: “The sounds that you just heard was campus police indicating that the campus is ALL CLEAR #ccsu. You may now leave the buildings.”

Classes have been cancelled Monday.

Jacqueline was CT Mirror’s Education and Housing Reporter, and an original member of the CT Mirror staff, joining shortly before our January 2010 launch. Her awards include the best-of-show Theodore A. Driscoll Investigative Award from the Connecticut Society of Professional Journalists in 2019 for reporting on inadequate inmate health care, first-place for investigative reporting from the New England Newspaper and Press Association in 2020 for reporting on housing segregation, and two first-place awards from the National Education Writers Association in 2012. She was selected for a prestigious, year-long Propublica Local Reporting Network grant in 2019, exploring a range of affordable and low-income housing issues. Before joining CT Mirror, Jacqueline was a reporter, online editor and website developer for The Washington Post Co.’s Maryland newspaper chains. Jacqueline received an undergraduate degree in journalism from Bowling Green State University and a master’s in public policy from Trinity College.

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