Officials Mum On Details Surrounding UC Berkeley Lockdown

BERKELEY, CA — The UC Berkeley campus was under shelter-in-place orders for around four hours Thursday after the university received what officials described as “credible campus-wide threat.”

The campus reopened Friday, a day after the lockdown led to the cancellation of all classes and campus activities, but the circumstances surrounding the disturbance remain unclear.

Authorities lifted the lockdown at around 1:40 p.m. after the suspect behind the threats was located, officials said.

The suspect has not been identified and it is not known whether the suspect was armed or if any arrests have been made in connection with the case.

UC Berkeley spokesman Dan Mogulof told reporters Thursday afternoon that identifying information about the suspect was being withheld for "unique and complicated privacy concerns," The San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Mogulof said the person police were seeking was located off-campus at 2 p.m. Citing police, Mogulof said the person, who was affiliated with the university, poses no immediate threat to campus safety.

Shelter-in-place orders were issued at around 9:30 a.m. due to what UC Berkeley campus police called an “unspecified emergency.”

"An Emergency has occurred near Campus-wide," the agency said in the 9:30 a.m. alert.

"Please go inside and move away from doors and windows."

An administrator texted the UC Berkeley community advising that the threat is related to a disgruntled student recently suspended for threatening behavior.

“The Warnme that just went out is relative to an emerging active shooter threat situation related to a student who has been placed on interim suspension for threatening behavior. Please encourage people to follow the shelter in place. We will be shutting all the buildings,” Assistant Executive Vice Chancellor Andrea Lambert said.

“We will send more info soon, but wanted to share this much as the situation emerges.”

But the dearth of information about the disturbance fueled speculation, some erroneous, which led to campus police issuing a 10:18 a.m. alert that said "there is NOT an active shooter on campus" after rumors floating on social media suggested that was the case.

"There is NOT an active shooter on campus. Police are actively looking for a person who may want to harm specific individuals. Please continue to shelter in place at this time. Stay tuned to Twitter for updates," the alert said.

Berkeleyside’s Ally Markovich reported seeing three helicopters flying overhead in a 10:54 a.m. tweet.

A KRON report updated at 10:52 a.m. describes a chaotic scene on campus in which students are still roaming the campus amid admonitions of officers to go inside.

"In-person classes are canceled through the remainder of the day and instructors are encouraged to accommodate students and if possible record their remote classes to provide access to students at a later time," the Berkeley Police Department said in a statement.

Campus police announced shelter orders had been lifted in a 1:41 p.m. alert.