The lockdown and massive police search on the campus of UMass Lowell on Wednesday was caused by a teenage boy with an airsoft rifle, police said.

UMass Lowell sent an alert on campus around 2:30 p.m. reporting a sighting of a person with a gun near the Riverview Suites on the South Campus. People were asked to stay indoors, and classes were canceled for the day.

Later, UMass Lowell Police Chief Ron Dickerson confirmed that a video circulating on social media that showed a person apparently armed with a long gun was real. Dickerson said that police had seen the person on their own surveillance videos.

There were no reports of shots fired. The lockdown ended around 5:15 p.m. with no one in custody. Police continued searching throughout the night.

On Thursday, the Lowell Police Depart

See Full Page