Washington College located in Chestertown, Maryland, shut down Monday morning after reports that one of its students may have been in route to the campus and was armed with a firearm.
A college spokesperson said that the school was notified by the parents of a student around 7:30 a.m. that he had returned home to Philadelphia, obtained a firearm and left. Since they were not able to reach him after that, the school decided to close its campus out of an abundance of caution.
Students and faculty already at the campus were told to shelter in place and those not on school grounds were told to stay away.
The Washington Post reported that law enforcement officials were called to the scene to do a sweep of the buildings.
Washington’s college’s website was updated about an hour and a half later and stated that police now believe that the student, whose parents contacted the school, is still in Pennsylvania. However, the college remains closed at this time.