American University incident: Lockdown lifted after 'armed intruder' sparks huge search on Washington DC campus

Campus police thank local Washington DC police for their help

The American University campus in Washington DC was locked down for several hours on Wednesday following reports of an armed intruder.

Campus police said that a building by building search was conducted with the help of local Washington DC officers. It included the Main Campus, the East Campus and a site at 3201 New Mexico Avenue.

They advised that all students visitors and staff seek shelter – lock their doors and stay away from windows.

Authorities received a call about a person who was armed with a gun about 1pm - a man walking in the area of Nebraska Avenue NW at New Mexico Avenue NW with an exposed handgun on his side, according to Washington DC police. The report was not immediately confirmed, police said.

“While the initial report indicated that this person was not on the AU campus, out of an abundance of caution, the American University Police Department issued an AU Alert and directed that the campus be put on lockdown,” University spokesman Mark Story said.

American University campus police started to release buildings from lockdown later in the afternoon.

The police later said that "all buildings and grounds are now deemed secure" and that the lockdown had been lifted.

They thanked all other law enforcement agencies for their help.