UMass Amherst Assault Prompted Shelter-in-Place; Police Looking for Suspects

UPDATE: An arrest warrant has been issued for the one of the suspects, who police suspect have ties to Framingham. The vehicle the suspects escaped in was found in Framingham. Click here for updated story.

The University of Massachusetts Amherst had a big scare Thursday night, instituting a shelter-in-place after two men with a gun assaulted a student on campus, officials said.

The student was transported to Cooley Dickinson Hospital in Northampton with minor injuries that included a head laceration, UMass Police Chief Tyrone Parham said in a press conference later Thursday night.

A handgun was shown, but not fired, the school said.

The two suspects, neither likely UMass students, according to Parham, were still at large as of Friday morning.

The shelter in place lasted nearly two hours, being lifted at 7:13 p.m.

Everything started when campus police responded to a report of an armed man in the Pierpont Hall dorm at 5:17 p.m., Parham said. Police found the victim, a male undergraduate student, in an upper-floor dorm in Pierpont Hall.

Parham said the incident appeared to be targeted, but there was no known reason for the attack. The attackers fled campus as the assault call came in, police gathered from witnesses.

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The campus-wide shelter-in-place order was sent out of precaution, Parham said.

Text alerts were initially sent to students at 5:45 p.m., warning them of an ”armed” and “hostile” man at Pierpont Hall.

Campus police worked with Amherst and State Police.

It was the first big test for Parham, who was sworn in last Friday.

“Our officers responded promptly and our community responded well to the emergency communications that we shared in a timely manner throughout the incident,” he said. “I want to thank everyone involved for their assistance and cooperation.”

Under a shelter-in-place, the school says, anybody indoors must remain there until told otherwise. People outside should immediately seek shelter.

UMass describes itself as ”the Commonwealth’s flagship school” and enrolls nearly 30,000 undergraduate and graduate students, according to its website.

It is the biggest university in Massachusetts for undergraduate enrollment, according to U.S. News and World Report.