USF Gunman Scare Turns Strange: Man Wielding Knife and Black Puppy Arrested

By: Neil Katz
Topics: Daily Blotter

(CBS/WLCY-TV)

TAMPA, Florida (CBS/AP) – The several-hours panic caused by reports of a gunman on the University of South Florida campus turned from scary to strange late Monday as police detained a man who was reportedly carrying a knife and a black puppy.

At about 3:30 p.m., police reported a man wearing a black tank top and cowboy hat, carrying a black puppy and a large hunting knife on campus. He was taken into custody.

He was not the same man that police had earlier detained on suspicion he had triggered a campus report of a man with a gun on campus, according to Lt. Meg Ross, of the USF Police Department.

Ross said that man was apprehended after he stood up on a campus bus and stated that he was the person authorities were looking for. Police responded to the scene and were able to get him off the bus.

It was not immediately clear whether the person in custody was actually tied to the original report of a bomb being planted near the USF library and whether it was real or a hoax.

The name of the man who was on the bus was not released, and Ross could not say if he was a student.

"We cannot determine as of yet whether it is the person we were looking for," she said. "He's being questioned and we're trying to determine that at this point."

Earlier in the day students had been warned to stay inside and lock their doors after a 1:36 p.m. call to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office had said someone was lurking on campus with a gun and a bomb had been planted at the campus library.

Despite the warning, no one reported shots being fired or injuries.

Students were told to return to their normal routine about three hours later.

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