Armed Suspect Triggers Lockdown At NJ University, Classes Go Remote

MORRIS COUNTY, NJ — A shelter-in-place order at Fairleigh Dickinson University's Florham Campus in Madison was lifted early Thursday morning, after students spent hours in lockdown while police searched for an armed individual on campus.

"Police activity has concluded," the university said early Thursday morning, also confirming that both of its New Jersey campuses would operate remotely for the day.

According to a statement from the university, they received a report Wednesday night of an individual with a gun on the Florham Campus, prompting a shelter-in-place order.

In late-night alerts posted to the university’s social media, students were advised to stay away from windows and doors.

The shelter-in-place order remained in effect for several hours as local police conducted a search for the individual, officials said.

"Local police continue to patrol the campus searching for an individual who may be in possession of a gun. No shots fired. Further updates will be provided as new information becomes known," the university posted on social media just before 12:30 a.m. Thursday.

The shelter-in-place order was lifted shortly after 2 a.m., once police determined that the individual was not on campus and did not pose an immediate threat.

Although the individual was not located on campus, an arrest warrant was issued. The university later confirmed that the individual was arrested at a location off-campus.

"Due to the prolonged and late-night disturbance, and again out of an abundance of caution, we decided to switch to remote operations for today, and we did that on both New Jersey campuses because of the number of individuals who might travel to each campus," read a social media update from the University.

No other information about the incident was available Thursday.

"We apologize for the stress and inconvenience but when we believe there may be a threat to our community members we will always react quickly and report these incidents to police who can help ensure everyone’s safety," university officials said.