LOWELL, Mass. — UMass Lowell is taking extra precautions as classes resume Thursday after a man with what appeared to be a long gun was spotted on campus on Wednesday afternoon, prompting a lockdown and a massive law enforcement response on the first day of school.
Students, faculty, and staff barricaded doors, hid in closets, and hunkered down with the lights off for more than two hours after receiving notifications on their phones alerting them of an individual with a gun behind the Riverview Suites dormitory shortly before 2:30 p.m.
“It was really scary because we don’t even know if this person goes to our school,” one student told Boston 25 News.
Investigators say the reported gun-wielding individual was not a hoax, and the search for the suspect is continuing Thursday morning.
HAPPENING NOW: UMass Lowell police, officials providing update after shelter-in-place for reported armed suspect liftedHAPPENING NOW: UMass Lowell police, officials providing update after shelter-in-place for reported armed suspect lifted
Posted by Boston 25 News on Wednesday, September 3, 2025
Students returning to campus will notice an increased police presence, with extra officers assigned outside residence halls. Counselors will also be made available in the wake of the schoolwide scare.
The lockdown was initiated after a video surfaced showing a man holding what appeared to be a long gun on a dirt path by the Riverview Suites on the school’s South Campus.
Police later confirmed that the video circulating on social media is “legitimate and 100 percent real.”
Another video shared with Boston 25 News showed a man running down Marginal Street toward the Riverview Suites with what appeared to be a firearm in his hand. It should be noted that it’s different than the video that prompted the lockdown.
In a statement issued on Thursday morning, UMass Lowell Chancellor Julie Chen said there were no reports of injuries during the emergency response.
“Let me be clear: This was never an active-shooter situation. There were no reports of shots, and thankfully, there have been no reports of any injuries,” Chen said.
About 100 officers, including Lowell police, Massachusetts State Police, and a regional task force, along with FBI agents, searched for the reported gunman for hours before the lockdown was lifted.
“I cannot express enough thanks to our emergency operations personnel and the dedicated officers of the UMass Lowell police — and our partners with the City of Lowell and State Police, as well as other law enforcement — who reacted quickly and professionally to ensure students, faculty, and staff were safe," Chen added.
Police say the suspect is believed to have left the campus.
"After an extensive search and investigation involving city and state police partners, law enforcement determined the suspect was no longer in the vicinity," a UMass Lowell spokesperson said, lifting the shelter-in-place order shortly after 5:15 p.m.
The police didn’t elaborate further on the incident in an effort to protect the ongoing investigation.
Anyone with information about the incident and the suspect is asked to contact the UMass Lowell police or the Lowell police.
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