Wooden ROTC cadet rifle led to SC State lockdown, university president says
An ROTC cadet carrying a wooden drill rifle on campus led to an hours-long lockdown Thursday morning at South Carolina State University.
University President Alexander Conyers said at a news conference Thursday afternoon that officials had located the student and confirmed the weapon, which Conyers described as “fake,” was not a threat.
“I’m pleased to say everything worked out exactly as it should have,” Conyers said.
South Carolina State University was placed on lockdown around 10:45 a.m., as campus police searched for a man “possibly carrying a gun on campus,” S.C. State spokesman Sam Watson said in a news release. S.C. State is in Orangeburg.
As a result of the lockdown, both students and employees were instructed to shelter in place until further notice.
Conyers said the lockdown started after a university employee reported a man carrying a gun on campus. The campus was shut down as both the Orangeburg Department of Public Safety and the Orangeburg County Sheriff’s Department were alerted to the situation. The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division and the FBI were also placed on standby, Conyers said.
Conyers said the student was seen carrying the fake rifle, which cadets are allowed to have on campus, on one of 200 security cameras S.C. State recently installed around the campus. At one point, the video shows the student “twirl it like in a drill ceremony,” Conyers said.
That led campus authorities to contact campus ROTC, which was able to identify and locate the student and confirm the gun was a wooden drill rifle.
Watson told The State the lockdown was lifted around 1 p.m.
Even after the lockdown was lifted, Conyers said the employee who reported the gun did the right thing.
“For a non-military person to see it, you would certainly think it’s a real weapon,” he said. “We don’t want students or employees trying to make that determination.”
Student Zyah Sethus at the news conference that students were not too worried during the lockdown as authorities worked to clear up the situation.
“Students were very open and mindful, just waiting for an all clear,” she said. “We’re Gen Z, so we’re used to this.”
This story was originally published December 8, 2022 at 11:37 AM.
