EFSC Cocoa campus reopened after unfounded reports of shooting

Law enforcement personnel converged on the Cocoa campus of Eastern Florida State College today, conducting a building-to-building search after 911 calls raised concerns about a possible gunman on the campus.

A campus-wide lockdown was cleared in about an hour, leaving some students shaken by the disruption. That prompted administrators to cancel classes for the day.

The Tuesday morning incident — which began earlier with an open 911 call to police dispatchers — also led to other lockdowns in the area, including Cocoa High School, Cambridge Elementary, Endeavour Elementary, Central Area ALC and Saturn Elementary. All lockdowns were lifted by 11:10 a.m.

Police said reports of gunfire or a gunman were unfounded.

"It was unfounded," said Yvonne Martinez, spokeswoman for the Cocoa Police Department. "The response was overwhelming. If we hear of anything like this, of course we're going to send in the cavalry."

Cocoa police, Brevard County Sheriff's Office deputies and SWAT team members cordoned off entrances into the college and began searching the 25-building campus around 9:30 a.m. Eastern Florida officials also sent out a text message alert that told students to remain inside and lock doors due to a threat of gun violence.

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Officers were already on the campus when police dispatchers received another call at around 10 a.m. from a student who said she was hiding in a closet and heard what sounded like a gunshot. That call came at about the same time as the text message alert.

"The whole thing started earlier when the sheriff's office got an open line 9-1-1 call about 8 a.m. They had heard a conversation about personal concerns over someone bringing a gun to campus. Then the alert was sent out and we got the other call," Martinez said. "That led to the officers trying to determine the level of threat, if any. But it was all unfounded."

“College security and local law enforcement officers did an excellent job in quickly responding to the possible threat and we’re very grateful for their actions,” said Eastern Florida President Dr. Jim Richey. “Nothing is more important than the safety of everyone at the college. We always take every threat seriously and will continue doing everything in our power to protect our students, faculty and staff.”

Robert Conforti, an 18-year-old sophomore at Eastern Florida State College, was on his way to health analysis class in building 18, the YMCA, when he noticed the commotion. He saw dozens of patrol cars as he was pulling into the parking lot, and knew something serious was going on. He made it into class just as the campus went into lockdown mode.

"I wasn't nervous or scared, I knew we were in a pretty safe place," Conforti said. "I come from a law enforcement family, and so I knew that what I needed to do was stay calm, and locate as many alternative exits from the building as possible. We went on lockdown … we were in here for two hours."

Conforti and several other students from the class kept an eye on the action outside, watching as officers walked by. The students kept each other in good spirits by telling jokes during the lockdown.

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"It was shocking," said 25-year-old student Brier Bush. "They evacuated my building. They came on the intercom and told us. I'm a veteran so it's easier on me, but it's still something very serious," he said, walking away from the campus.

Across the street on Clearlake Road, parents waited anxiously and watched as police made their way from building to building.

"With all the stuff in the news right now, parents are freaking out and people just want to know that their families are safe," said Cocoa resident Maureen Hahn, who had rushed to the scene to retrieve her son Justin.

She said that police were very professional in their handling of the threat and that she was impressed by their swift response. She is deeply upset by what happened, and wants authorities to be vigilant about preventing these types of incidents.