The Massachusetts College of Art and Design and Boston’s Wentworth Institute of Technology were placed on temporary lockdown Wednesday afternoon after reports that an armed man ended up taking the Halloween photo with a fake gun.
Police said they were called to the 600 Huntington Avenue area. A report from an armed man was received around 1.15pm, but a full removal was issued about two hours later once it was determined that the gun was fake.
“Earlier this afternoon, a Wentworth student reported the presence of an armed person in a residence hall area on the MassArt campus,” MassArt said in a statement. “The Boston Police Department received a call immediately and is controlling the investigation at the scene.”
The college also said police had set up a perimeter around the building.
MassArt, located at 621 Huntington Avenue, tweeted shortly after 2 p.m. that the lockdown was in progress. They later said that “out of an abundance of caution” all evening classes were cancelled.
The Wentworth Institute of Technology at 550 Huntington Avenue sent a similar message shortly before 2.30pm, saying the lockdown was in progress. In a follow-up tweet at 3.20pm, they said the scene had been cleared and the lockdown lifted.
The Boston Latin School, not far away, also went into safe mode during the investigation.
Anyone on both university campuses is advised to stay put, lock their doors and wait for all clear information.
https://twitter.com/MassArt/status/1585332015481528320?s=20&t=OeOj_VOb3lKlv53TqGiLeA
https://twitter.com/wentworthinst/status/1585337756456169472?s=20&t=OeOj_VOb3lKlv53TqGiLeA
Photos taken at the scene during the investigation showed a large number of heavily armed police officers on Huntington Avenue. Dozens of students were outside waiting for what happened.
No more details were immediately provided.