A person is in custody after an emergency shelter-in-place order was triggered at American University due to a dangerous person on or near campus.

The university sent out the first warning on Monday at 2:39 p.m. The warning asked students who were outside to leave campus immediately. Those inside were instructed to hide in a safe place, lock doors and avoid windows.

At 3:01 p.m., a second AU alert informed students via text message that a person was in custody and the campus could return to normal operations.

In a campus-wide email sent around 4:30 p.m., Chief Financial Officer, Vice President and Treasurer Bronté Burleigh-Jones and University Associate Vice President for Police Services and Emergency Management Phil Morse reassured the community that the campus was safe, after reports of a possible risk of weapons on campus.

According to the email, the AU Police Department received a report of a student with a gun in Anderson Hall at 2:30 p.m. AUPD and the Metropolitan Police Department both responded to the report.

AUPD contacted the student who had moved into the Hall of Science. The student voluntarily met with officers, allowing AUPD to confirm there was no weapon.

The student was taken into custody. The potential weapon was identified as a toy and confiscated.

Burleigh-Jones and Morse reminded students that fake or toy guns are prohibited on campus.

Editor's note: This story was updated at 5 p.m. to include the email from Burleigh-Jones and Morse.

This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.

This article was edited by Tyler Davis and Abigail Turner. Copy editing by Luna Jinks.

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