WILKES-BARRE, Pa. — Parts of a college were on lockdown, and a busy street in Luzerne County was blocked off.
Police set up outside a building on River Street near King's College, where a search began around 9 a.m.
It lasted for hours, and it all turned out to be a false alarm.
After an investigation, police reported that there was no gun or gunman at a residence on River Street, but this still caused a commotion on campus.
Students at King's College woke up to sirens as police vehicles lined up outside of campus along River Street in Wilkes-Barre.
According to a police report, officers responded to a report of a man inside an apartment complex with a "war-like" gun talking about suicide.
"I was going to football lifts, and then I saw cops behind my house. And I heard everyone come out of the house, so I went out of the house. I got behind the car, and the cop told me there's a guy in your apartment with a machine gun," said sophomore Pierre Marchanc.
Marchanc and other residents were instructed to evacuate their apartments as the rest of King's College went into lockdown.
"It's scary when that has a contribution to your education, so I was honestly kind of confused, kind of shocked. I was happy that they made sure that no one went near that area. I think it would have been good if we had a little bit more security in that area, but I'm thankful that they were able to tell the student body to stay away from that," said senior Mikayla Acree.
The college sent out updates throughout the morning to keep students and staff safe as police continued their investigation.
"It's nice to have the day off from class, I suppose, but it's good to know that even when they perceive there to be a threat that there were proper protocols in place," said senior Michael Ecker.
Students said that this isn't a normal occurrence on campus but are grateful for social media and campus safety for keeping them informed.
"I definitely think this was necessary that right away they sent out an email, let all of us know. I'm happy they didn't keep anyone in the dark. I'm happy they had security. I'm happy they shut down the business school. I think this was the smartest call. So I'm happy they were able to vocalize it to everyone and not hide anything," Acree added.
After a thorough investigation, the police did not find a person in the building. They cleared the scene around noon, allowing King's College to resume classes and Earth Day activities afterward.
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