Westfield State University President Dr. Ramon Torrecilha (photo courtesy WSU)
WESTFIELD—Westfield State University has released an update on the report of a suspicious male on campus Monday that prompted a campus-wide lockdown.
According to a statement from WSU President Ramon S. Torrecilha, an individual who believed that they were the person identified as the suspicious person came forward Monday night. The statement stems from a report yesterday of a suspicious male dressed in a black trench coat, a vest and with a bulging backpack, which had brought the university into a campus-wide lockdown, while Massachusetts State and WSU Police searched for the suspicious male.
According to the statement, the person went to the university’s police station as requested, and was wearing a black trench coat, black pants, a bulging backpack and a vest, which were the same articles reportedly being worn by the suspicious person yesterday. It was further said in the statement that the vest was “neither a bullet-proof vest nor body armor” and no threat was posed by the person.
From the statement:
“It has been determined that this individual poses no threat to the university community. Two students who made the identification yesterday reviewed the photo of this individual and confirmed that this was the individual observed yesterday.
Officials however, did not specify who the person was that came forward.
The university itself was in lockdown for almost two hours, lasting from 12:49 p.m. until 2:33 p.m., with classes resuming at 3:10 p.m. At the time, police did not report finding the party and later set up a hotline for tips, as well as increased police presence and escorts for students.
