Florida Campus Lock-Down Lifted

Suspect Detained After Shots Are Fired At An Exam Week Campus Party

(CBS/AP)  A lock-down at Florida Atlantic University was lifted Wednesday after authorities found a suspect in an early morning campus shooting, officials said.

Two shots were fired shortly after 1 a.m. at a party in the student apartments on the Boca Raton campus, FAU Police Chief Charles Lowe said. One non-student was slightly injured, but it was not clear if that person was hit by a bullet, officials said.

Exams were canceled and students were told to stay in their dormitories as authorities searched the campus Wednesday morning.

Hours after the shooting, the suspect was found at an off-campus location, according to the school. The campus was to remain closed Wednesday and reopen for classes Thursday. Authorities have not said whether the unidentified male suspect is a student.

"An altercation broke out and ultimately our suspect pulled out a firearm and, we believe, fired two shots," FAU Police Chief Charles Lowe said.

Officers responding to the scene minutes after a 911 call found shell casings on the floor, Lowe said. Soon after, sirens, mass e-mails and other announcements over the school's public address system notified students of an emergency and warned them to remain indoors.

The alert system was installed just 60 days ago and had not been fully tested.

"It seemed to work," said FAU President Frank Brogan.

CBS News affiliate WFOR correspondent Sharrie Williams spoke to Brogan, who told her, "when that first phone call comes in to the president's home in the middle of the night indicating that there has been a shooting on one of your campuses, it's hard to describe the bone chilling effect that that has."

Brogan said they received word of the shooting at 1:16 a.m. and activated the new Siren System at 1:46 a.m.

FAU student Ayden Mayer told WFOR that he and his friends had joked about what had happened, "but once the alert was posted, we actually got kind of nervous," he said.

Brogan said fewer people were on campus than usual because it is FAU's finals week.

WFOR reported that all Wednesday classes were canceled - in the middle of final exam week - but will resume Thursday. Wednesday's exams will be made up Saturday.

Guns are not permitted at FAU.

[billorights]

If I am not mistaken, Florida may already have a law in place that makes gunfire in the course of dispute resolution, along with several other forms of attempted homicide, a punishable offense.

[billorights]

If I am not mistaken, Florida may already have a law in place that makes gunfire in the course of dispute resolution, along with several other forms of attempted homicide, a punishable offense.

[impeach_w]

Gun free zones like gun laws, only apply to the law abiding. Criminals, by definition break laws- Duh!

[hbevis]

It does not matter if it is a gun free zone. If you have no regard for the law. The person that wants a gun is going to have one.

When I was in school 50 years ago anyone that wanted a gun, had one. And never, and I mean never, was there the first case of a gun being used being misused.

We are going to have to change our way of living before there is a change in what is happening across America.

[bks59]

yeah that will teach him/her, kick''em out of school.

[coppertales]

It escapes me to understand how this could happen in a gun free zone.......guns are prohibited on campus...if they catch the guy, he will probably get kicked out of school....