Wheaton College

Student With Ax Sparks Brief Scare at Wheaton College in Mass.

The person was located and was determined not to be a threat — he was just trying to break down some materials that had been discarded

A person with an ax caused a brief lockdown at Wheaton College in Norton, Massachusetts.

The "all clear" came about 20 minutes after an initial warning to students and staff to lock themselves indoors after an individual was spotted on campus with an ax.

That person ended up being a Wheaton student, who was carrying the ax to his apartment, close to the main campus, to break down some materials that had been discarded, according to Wheaton's public safety department. He ended up reporting himself as the person that authorities were searching for after an emergency notification went out.

That came around 2:47 p.m., when school officials tweeted that an individual "with an ax weapon" was seen on the Wheaton campus near Howard Street. They urged students and staff to go to the nearest secure room and to lock and barricade themselves inside.

Anyone who was not on campus was urged to stay away until notified of an all clear by campus officials.

About 20 minutes later, the school cancelled their alert, saying the person had been located and was not a threat.

Wheaton College is a liberal arts college in Norton, Massachusetts, with about 1,600 undergraduate students.

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