A man with a gun at UC Irvine who caused a brief lockdown prior to a Tuesday afternoon induction ceremony for the school’s new chancellor, Howard Gillman, called the police and turned himself in after seeing an alert that he was being sought.
He was not arrested, and details were not given as to the type of gun he was carrying, not was it made clear whether he was affiliated with the school, according to the Daily Pilot. Police did question him as to why he had a gun. The police alert was sent out around 2:45 p.m. informing anyone on campus that they had spotted a man with gun by the school’s main flagpole.
Although the unnamed man had the proper permits to carry the weapon, the campus has a policy barring firearms from the property, according to UCI campus spokeswoman Cathy Lawhon.
Security has been tightened around UCI’s campus following reports of “viable threat of violence” last month after the school’s student government attempted to pass legislation that would ban flying the U.S. flag–and all other flags — from the lobby of their building. The reason for the initial flag ban, which was later overturned by a higher student government group, was to avoid “triggering” hurt feelings among illegals.
Campus security was amplified following threats surrounding the initial flag ban.
The Daily Pilot notes that the induction ceremony took place over an hour after it was scheduled to begin at the school’s Barclay Theatre, with the doors locked. No one was let in or out for security purposes.
Follow Adelle Nazarian on Twitter @AdelleNaz
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