A man was detained on the University of South Florida campus on March 1 after campus police said he brought a gun on campus.
- Man initially spotted near College of Nursing
- Alert sent to students, faculty and staff to avoid area
- Man had concealed weapons license, issued no threats
The university sent out a MoBull alert warning students, faculty and staff that a man had been seen near the College of Nursing carrying a gun, and telling them to avoid the area.
"It was really scary. Definitely not the way I wanted to start my day," said Brittany Marrs, a student who was inside the building at the time.
She said her classmates moved quickly to take precautions.
"We put stuff against the door, we turned off the lights and stayed really quiet," Marrs explained. "People were very, very smart about it. We acted quickly so I thought that was really great."
Police said the man had a concealed gun while attending a conference on campus.
"When we got the call, we saturated the area with our officers," said Captain Meg Ross with USF Police.
Ross said officers evacuated portions of the building and located the man quickly.
Police said he had a valid concealed weapons license, but guns cannot be carried on campus.
"We're very aware of this, it gives us great concern and we want to address it," said Ross.
Police said the man never made any threats against anybody.
Officers took the gun and charged the man with a violation of his concealed weapons permit, a second-degree misdemeanor. He was released with a notice to appear.