The lock down at Yale University sparked by an anonymous caller stating his "roomate" was heading to the campus to kill people may have been a "prank call," the Hartford Courant reported.
On Tuesday, the Ivy League school located in New Haven, Conn. was place on lockdown from about 10 a.m. in the morning until 4:40 p.m. as police officials investigated reports of an alleged gunman.
The call was reportedly placed at 9:48 a.m., but the caller did not identify himself. Authorities confirmed tipster used a phone booth in the 300 block of Columbus Avenue, between Howard Avenue and Hallock Street to make the call. No shots were fired nor was a gunman ever spotted at the campus.
"The combined police forces combed the area and have found no suspicious person. However, the police are taking nothing for granted. They are working to track down who made the first (anonymous) phone call and to interview thoroughly everyone involved. As the Chief of New Haven Police made clear in the news conference this afternoon, if it was a prank call that started this chain of events, the authorities intend to prosecute the individual to the fullest extent of the law," Yale said in a statement.
"The safety of our community is our paramount priority. I want to underscore our collective thanks to the superb mobilization of the Yale, New Haven, and State Police, and the FBI, as well as Yale's own Emergency Response team," Yale continued.
Yale Chief Ron Higgins was grateful the University did not have an active shooter situation. Students were also on Holiday break and less were on campus than a usual school day. Multiple swat teams reported to Yale to investigate the alleged gunman incident.
"We are erring on the side of the abundance of caution, and we are glad that no one has gotten injured and everyone is safe" Higgins told WTNH. "We are glad that it has ended this way."
