UNH student had assault weapon, clippings of theater shooting, West Haven police say University, nearby schools put on lockdown

University of New Haven student William Dong appears during his arraingment Wednesday at Superior Court in Milford. Assistant public defender Kevin Williams is at right. University of New Haven student William Dong appears during his arraingment Wednesday at Superior Court in Milford. Assistant public defender Kevin Williams is at right. Photo: ASSOCIATED PRESS Photo: ASSOCIATED PRESS Image 1 of / 104 Caption Close UNH student had assault weapon, clippings of theater shooting, West Haven police say 1 / 104 Back to Gallery

WEST HAVEN >> A commuter student from Fairfield arrested Tuesday near the University of New Haven was armed with two handguns, an assault weapon in his car, and had press clippings in his home of the Aurora, Colo., theater shooting, police say.

William Dong, 22, 1336 Stratfield Road, Fairfield, was charged Wednesday with illegal possession of an assault weapon (a Bushmaster 223 assault rifle found in his car on the floor behind front passenger seat), illegal transport of an assault weapon, breach of peace and illegal possession of a weapon in a motor vehicle. Sgt. David Tammaro released Dong’s booking information in a press release Wednesday and said that Dong was held in lieu of $500,000 bail. Dong was arraigned in Milford Court Wednesday afternoon.

Dong had 2,700 rounds of ammunition in padlocked bedroom, authorities said. What is purported to be his Facebook page shows a photo depicting the Joker. James Holmes, the Aurora shooter, was dressed as the Joker.

Judge Frank Iannotti ordered Dong to undergo a mental examination.

Several items were collected from his home, including numerous pistol magazines, ammunition, and the newspaper clippings.

A rifle was recovered in his car, a gray-blue Toyota RAV4, which was parked in the ShopRite parking lot. Tammaro said numerous pistol magazines, ammunition and newspaper clippings of mass shootings were collected from Dong’s home.

The UNH campus was on lockdown for much of the day.

Tammaro said a 911 call came from the ShopRite lot reporting a man with a rifle. Police “confronted [Dong] within minutes” near the UNH campus and arrested him. In addition to the rifle, ammunition and magazines were found in the Toyota, Tammaro said. He said Dong was the only suspect.

“We have one person actually in custody; weapons were recovered,” Tammaro said. He said the incident “had to be taken as a real threat.” State police, FBI and police from towns including Orange arrived at the parking lot, with as many as two dozen law enforcement vehicles in the lot and on the street.

The lockdown, which was limited to the north and south portions of campus for much of the afternoon, was completely lifted at about 5:30 p.m. Evening classes were canceled.

Police were at Dong’s home in Fairfield looking for clues.

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Schools in the area — Forest School, Carrigan Intermediate School and Notre Dame High School — also were in lockdown for a time.

During the lockdown, UNH students were taken to Beckerman Hall, the recreation center, as each building on campus was searched.

Senior Brandon Bisceglia said he was in class at the Laurel Vlock Center when a student received a message about the lockdown. Because the classroom had glass windows and doors, Bisceglia said his professor ushered the students into a closet.

“We couldn’t really just sit in the classroom, but there is a closet that is inside the room. ... The closet was big enough for all of the students to fit into and so that’s what we did,” he said. “Our professor said for everybody to hide their stuff as quickly as they could, and we moved into there.”

Bisceglia said he was surprised that the entire class, about 20 people, fit in the closet. For just about an hour the class remained hidden, following tweets, local media updates and university updates. Unsure if the officers would have thought to check the closet, students eventually trickled back into the classroom after learning that someone was in custody.

About 4 p.m., Bisceglia said two armed officers brought the class to the rec center, where a few hundred others were being sheltered. Even while in the rec center, Bisceglia said few people seemed to know what was going on.

Once the lockdown was lifted, Bisceglia said most students rushed to get food or return home as planned.

“There was a lot of traffic coming out of the parking lot,” he said.

As for any concerns over safety, the senior said the reality is most campuses are open and anyone can just walk onto the campus.

“I don’t know that I have any additional fear. I suppose I knew this was always a possibility; I also don’t know much about the circumstances surrounding it,” Bisceglia said.

Paul Carbonella, a junior at UNH, said he was in class in Kaplan Hall when a woman came in and told the professor that students wouldn’t be allowed to leave once class was over. They weren’t told why, but Carbonella heard soon afterward from his mother, who works on campus, that a man with a gun or guns had been stopped nearby.

“At first there was a lot of commotion in our classroom because there was so little information,” Carbonella said. “For a brief time, people were nervous and scared. We were asking, ‘Where is the shooter? What’s going on? Have they caught him?’ But our professor didn’t know.”

Eventually, he said, they learned the suspect had been detained, but there was still a missing weapon. “Once we heard he was caught, it lightened up,” he said.

Carbonella said that when the class time was up, they watched a movie: “Hey Arnold.” He said they were stuck in the classroom for close to four hours. “It was pretty boring,” he said. After that, the students were told to go to the recreation center for about a half an hour.

“I saw a SWAT team, the National Guard and a tank-looking thing,” Carbonella said.

UNH spokeswoman Karen Grava said, “Our concern from the beginning has been safety, and we were pleased that there were no injuries,” she said. “Everyone was safe; everyone cooperated.”

At about 1:25 p.m., a state police dog and four handlers were seen running from the ShopRite lot up First Avenue to Campbell Avenue and Rudin Street, toward UNH. At midafternoon, a flatbed tow truck carried the Toyota RAV4 out of the ShopRite parking lot.

UNH sent this message via Twitter at about 1:30 p.m.: “WHPD has reported an Asian male near South Campus with what appears to be a rifle. SHELTER IN PLACE and await further instruction.”

A faculty member said police reported seeing the male in question walking up Rudin Street on the edge of the campus off Campbell Avenue.

Notre Dame High School via Twitter said, “When ND does dismiss for the day, students MUST be picked up from the Terrace Ave. parking lot. Dismissal time is not available at this time. Those adults picking up students are asked for patience as we expect traffic buildup and delays. The bus companies have been informed.”

Sgt. Suzanne Lussier of the Fairfield Police Department said Dong lives on Stratfield Road with his parents. “Our officers were sent there at the request of the West Haven police to check on the safety of the residents. We’re trying to determine if there are any other weapons in the home.”

Lussier said the suspect has a valid pistol permit, issued in April.

Police spoke to the suspect’s mother and are awaiting a search warrant from West Haven police to execute a search, Fairfield Chief Gary MacNamara said.

This story has been edited from its original version. An earlier version of the story contained an incorrect statement that it is illegal to carry a long gun in public. Randall Beach, Rachel Chinapen and Rich Scinto contributed to this story. Call Ed Stannard at 203-789-5743. Have questions, feedback or ideas about our news coverage? Connect directly with the editors of the New Haven Register at AskTheRegister.com.

VIDEOS: West Haven Police speak on lockdown / Police activity at ShopRite