A lockdown was lifted on the Stevenson University campus in suburban Baltimore nearly three hours after the school ordered students to “shelter in place” because of an active shooter on the Owings Mills campus.
The university sent out a text alert warning students and staff of the threat around 2:30 p.m., while the Baltimore County Police responded to the campus after getting a report of two people on campus with some sort of long gun.
The “emergency situation” on the campus “no longer exists,” though class and activities on campus for Monday evening were canceled, the university wrote on its website.
“It appears that the incident was caused by two students who had the poor judgment of hunting in the woods with two BB rifles near campus,” University president Kevin Manning said in a statement Monday.
Police later said there was no active shooter at any point on campus, but rather reports of someone with a gun on campus.
Video from WBAL-TV appeared to show a rifle on the ground beside a gray truck in a campus parking lot. Baltimore County Police spokeswoman Elise Armacost later confirmed authorities found a pellet gun with a scope in the truck and are questioning two male students about the weapon.
No one has been charged with any crime, she said.
The truck reportedly had a campus parking permit.
There were no reports of shots fired or injuries on campus.
The private university has about 4,000 people enrolled at campuses in both Owings Mills and Stevenson, Md., just outside Baltimore.
“While we are relieved with this safe outcome, this has been a sobering experience for us and our families,” Manning wrote to students and staff. “This reminds us all of the importance of our ‘see something, say something’ mantra. Nothing is more important than your safety.”
