University of the Incarnate Word on alert after report of gunman

SAPD were among units that returned to UIW for an additional search of the campus late Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2015. SAPD were among units that returned to UIW for an additional search of the campus late Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2015. Image 1 of / 32 Caption Close University of the Incarnate Word on alert after report of gunman 1 / 32 Back to Gallery

San Antonio police returned to the University of the Incarnate World campus for a second time Tuesday and searched the campus for more than two hours after a member of the cleaning crew reportedly saw a man pulling on a door.

Police began their second extensive search about 10 p.m. and UIW officially reported a lockdown via their Twitter account about 12:30 a.m. Ten minutes later police were called back to their staging area and the search was over.

The man spotted by the cleaning crew was a campus police officer doing a security check by pulling the door's handle, police said after viewing surveillance footage.

Police said the cleaning crew may have still been on edge from Tuesday's earlier lockdown and mistook the guard's heavy flashlight for something else.

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The University of the Incarnate Word campus near downtown San Antonio was on high alert for about two hours Tuesday evening after officials received reports of a suspected gunman on campus.

UIW Police Chief Robert Chavez said the department received two calls about a person dressed in black and carrying a gun on campus about 5:39 p.m. As darkness fell, campus police and other local police departments, as well as an SAPD helicopter, searched for the possible gunman.

"We took every precaution calling SAPD, DPS and nearby agencies ... using spotters and (officers) who went through the campus," Chavez said.

Just before 7 p.m. the University sent students and faculty a text message alert that said, "Suspected armed individual reported on campus near Joeris. Take caution."

Thirty minutes later the university sent a second alert, "Authorities have searched campus and surrounding area. No suspect has been found to support report. Campus not on lockdown."

Prior to the second alert professors released all students and police directed traffic at entrances of the campus, while some students were still at the campus near Hildebrand Avenue and Broadway Street.

Students on social media including Twitter and Yik Yak shared messages about the reported gunman. An account run by the university's student government urged students to remain calm.

"Social media started blowing up, parents got involved and we put out an official statement and an alert," he said. "We were doing that without saying 'lockdown' and advising that people stayed put."

Chavez said the photo of a man with a gun that was circulating on social media and depicted as the possible gunman was actually a spotter looking for the suspect. He added that the university of about 10,000 students was never on lockdown because no one in law enforcement could confirm a shooter's presence. However students and a message from the Alamo Heights Police Department referred to it as a lockdown.

Chavez told media that they plan to further question the woman who first reported seeing the gunman, but have yet to confirm the identity of the second caller.

With television station cameras aimed at Chief Chavez, the UIW entrance once patrolled by guards now empty, Chavez paused as he answered questions about how the school handled the situation.

"You're always learning, but I believe we are prepared," he said. "You just never know with these things ... where a person's at or what they're doing. You have to have confirmation."

Staff writer Madalyn Mendoza contributed to this report.

kparker@express-news.net

Twitter: @KoltenParker