Advertisement Social media posts lead to UCF library lockdown, police say Library evacuated by UCF police; scene cleared Tuesday afternoon Share Shares Copy Link Copy

The scene was cleared Tuesday following reports of a possible person with a gun at the University of Central Florida.The University of Central Florida and University of Central Florida Police Department sent an alert message Tuesday to students and staff reporting a possible person with a gun in the UCF main campus library.Police then sent the following message in a tweet:*UCF ALERT* UCFPD responding to Library reference person with a gun. Please avoid area."The library area was evacuated by police. Officials advised students to stay away from the area while the investigation was underway."Social media posts lead to library lockdown. It remains in effect. Other operations normal," UCF police said in a tweet.The scene was cleared around 5 p.m.Things are back to normal at UCF after the campus scare.Officers were on campus with semi-automatic weapons as some students were frightened and confused.The alert was allegedly sent out because of reports that a woman had a gun. Officials said it turns out, it was likely that she did not have a gun, but was praying.It all happened at the John C. Hitt Library, right in the middle of campus, as students prepared for finals.UCF police officers spend thousands of hours per year training for serious incidents, similar to what happened Tuesday. It was a false alarm, and the school is operating as usual once again. But for a few hours, it was a tense situation, especially when an officer's gun went off just feet from students."The library was packed," said James, a UCF student."On the intercom, all you hear is, 'All students exit the building,'" said Carlos, another student who was on campus."We just packed up our stuff and left the library," another student told WESH 2 News.Hundreds of students evacuated the John C. Hitt Library, which is a centerpiece of UCF's campus, especially during exam season. But when UCF police saw a threat on social media, reporting that a possible woman armed with a gun had been seen, it was all hands on deck."You've got body armor, assault weapons, and we don't usually see stuff like this," said Taylor, a UCF student.Students were sitting outside the library as police went in, some with long guns, searching floor by floor for anything suspicious."It was a bit of mild chaos. I think with such kinds of unreliable information, you know, we have a lot of things we're thinking about right now," James said.The all-clear was given after more than an hour of searching. The social media report was found to be untrue."Unfortunately, this is the problem with social media, but we have to take it like it's the real deal," said UCF Police Chief Richard Beary.Shortly after the all-clear was given, the sound of a gunshot was heard. Gunfire erupted feet from the library, sending some back into a panic. Police said it was an accident by one of their own."As an officer was getting ready to leave the scene, he placed his gun in the rack and it accidentally discharged," said UCF police spokesperson Courtney Gilmartin.UCF police said they are now reviewing that officer's actions.No one was injured.WESH 2 News learned there are no metal detectors in the library.3922602414277264