Police arrested a man Thursday who they say threatened to commit suicide and hurt others on the campus of Mississippi State University. However, authorities did not recover a gun nor were there any reports of shots fired. Photo courtesy Twitter/@trevorLBS
Mississippi State University officials say one man has been arrested after the school received a "credible threat" that led them to issue an alert for an active shooter.
MSU spokesman Sid Salter told The Associated Press in a phone interview today that a man was arrested but that authorities are withholding his name. Salter wouldn't say whether the man was a student at the university in Starkville. Salter says that no shots were reported and that authorities found no gun.
Authorities told reporters this afternoon the suspect threatened to commit suicide and harm other students.
Around 10:20 a.m., the school's official Twitter feed for emergency and advisory information issued an advisory of an "active shooter" on campus. MSU advised students to remain sheltered even after it reported the person's arrest. The school said on Twitter that classes were suspended until 2 p.m.
Photos of the purported suspect circulated, showing a barefoot man handcuffed and surrounded by law enforcement officers.
Earlier, MSU Alert reported that there was a shooter at Carpenter Hall; the shooter was then reported near Lee Hall, and university officials advised people to seek safety.
Nonetheless, the threat prompted the 20,000-student university to issue a campus alert just after 10 a.m. That prompted students, faculty and staff to lock themselves into offices and classrooms. Authorities arrested the man about 30 minutes later in the heart of campus.
Several news outlets also reported that local schools went on lockdown.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
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