William McKeown of Framingham turned himself in at police headquarters at 12:45 p.m. Friday after an arrest warrant had been issued in Hampshire County, where UMass is.

A 19-year-old man surrendered to Framingham police Friday on charges of armed robbery and assault at a University of Massachusetts Amherst dormitory, which prompted a nearly two-hour lockdown the previous night at the sprawling campus.

William McKeown faces charges of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, assault and battery, and armed robbery.

McKeown is set to be arraigned Monday in Eastern Hampshire District Court in Belchertown on charges of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, assault and battery, and armed robbery, according to the Hampshire district attorney's office.

McKeown and another man had been let inside Pierpont Hall Thursday evening by a student, UMass spokesman Daniel Fitzgibbons said. The dormitory, like all residence halls at UMass Amherst, is locked 24 hours a day and accessed by swipe cards issued to students, Fitzgibbons said.


The victim suffered a minor head laceration and was known to McKeown, who allegedly showed a handgun in the dormitory but did not fire the weapon, UMass Police Chief Tyrone Parham said.

"This particular assault victim had clearly been specifically targeted," Parham said at a news conference Thursday. McKeown, who is not a UMass student, entered the dormitory with another man. A warrant has not been issued for that man.

The Daily Hampshire Gazette, citing a criminal complaint by the

UMass Police Department, reported that the two suspects entered the dorm to sell marijuana to the assault victim. After a disagreement, McKeown allegedly struck the victim in the head "with a hard object believed to be a gun," according to the complaint.

Framingham police said they were alerted at 7:30 p.m. Thursday by

UMass police, following the alleged assault, and given information about two adult males and a motor vehicle. After receiving that advisory, Framingham and State Police searched two locations with the consent of the property owner.


"While the subjects were not located, the wanted vehicle was located at one of the locations and later impounded," Framingham police said.

McKeown surrendered less than 24 hours after a gun was reported in Pierpont Hall at 5:17 p.m. Thursday.

Campus officials ordered a shelter-in-place lockdown, and alerts were dispatched to 39,000 people in the campus community through texts,

e-mails, and loudspeaker warnings, Fitzgibbons said.

One alert read: "Hostile armed person reported in Pierpont Hall. A handgun was shown but not fired. Suspect is a [white] male wearing a dark colored shirt and a gold chain."

Sophomore Cate Matthews credited police with updating students with six alerts during the lockdown. Matthews said she and her friends had just walked into the dining commons about a half-mile from Pierpont when the first notice went out.

"UMass police were really good at sending out information as soon as they had it and keeping everyone updated," Matthews said.

Janna Feldman, a sophomore who was with Matthews at the dining commons, said, "We were kind of far away from the situation, so for us it seemed a little overdramatic. But if you were in Southwest [campus]," where the alleged assault occurred, "it was probably appropriate."

Fitzgibbons said the incident will allow UMass to analyze security, which he said it had bolstered in the dormitories at significant expense.

"There are always people who will try to circumvent things," Fitzgibbons said. "We try to educate students not to let people they don't know into the buildings."


The intrusion showed the value of the campuswide warnings, he added.

"We've been getting a lot of positive reaction to the use of the alert system," Fitzgibbons said. "It shows that the system works on campus, and it works on different levels."