Hostile man armed with ‘handgun’ at Pierpont Hall
The suspect is a white male wearing a dark shirt and gold chain
UPDATE: The UMPD have issued an all-clear and the shelter in place order has been lifted.
A gunman armed with what is believed to be a handgun is in the vicinity of Pierpont Hall.
He is a white male, wearing a dark shirt and a gold chain. The gun was shown but not fired.
UMPD has secured a perimeter and shelter is in place.
The campus wide alarm system began sounding at 5:53 PM, saying “intruder alert”.
A second white male has been reported to be involved, wearing a grey sweatshirt. It is not yet known whether he is armed.
There is currently no known direction of travel for either.
The entire campus is now in lockdown.
Hannah Scholnick, a freshman Pierpont resident, was at the UMass Hillel Center when the alarm sounded.
She said: “I’m freaking out a little, it’s weird that it’s my dorm.
“I never thought this would happen in my dorm.”
Pierpont resident Shae Feather said: “I was getting pizza in downtown Amherst and I got a Snapchat from a friend saying we were in lock down.
“At first I didn’t believe it, he’s a bit of a clown but then I got a call from my friend in central and knew it was legit.
“The fear has grown steadily given that a ton of my friends live in Pierpont with me and with the information coming in.
“It was a normal day. I have a paper due tomorrow. I know that isn’t gonna get done.”
If you have any information, pictures or video of tonight’s incident, send them to [email protected].
Everyone in the five college system has been told to stay away from the UMass campus.