UPDATE: Police searched a building at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on Saturday before concluding that a report that a gunman was on campus wearing body armor was “unfounded.”

MIT had issued a “shelter in place” warning on Saturday and said that multiple law enforcement agencies, including Cambridge Police, had responded to the report.

The Cambridge Police Department said on its website that it had searched the building with “negative results” and then concluded there was no threat to public safety.

“Scene is clear. Call unfounded,” the department said.

PREVIOUSLY: The Massachusetts Institute of Technology on Saturday issued a “shelter in place” lockdown warning after police said they had received a report there could be a person in a campus building with a long rifle and wearing body armor.

The notice on MIT’s website said that multiple law enforcement agencies including Cambridge Police had responded to the campus.

The Cambridge Police Department said on its website that it had searched the building with “negative results” and more information would follow.

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The afternoon shooting occurred outside Price Middle School in Atlanta, Georgia. Neither the wounded student nor the suspected shooter were identified by authorities.

The school was placed on lockdown.

Atlanta Police Department spokesman Carlos Campos said the gunshot victim was “alert, conscious and breathing” when he was taken to a local hospital.

“Everything is secure,” Campos told reporters at the scene.

A fire department spokeswoman said a teacher had suffered minor injuries during the incident and was treated at the scene.

Atlanta Public Schools Superintendent Erroll Davis said a news conference had been scheduled for 4 p.m. EST to discuss the incident. “All other students are safe,” Davis said in a statement.

A national debate has raged over gun control in the United States since the shooting deaths of 20 children and six adults at a Connecticut elementary school in December.

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After nearly six hours of failed negotiations, police killed the gunman as he opened fire on them through a second-story window of a townhouse where he had barricaded himself, said Aurora police spokeswoman Cassidee Carlson.

It was unclear from police and media reports whether officers entered the home or shot the man through the window. KUSA television reported that he was killed after police fired tear gas and entered the home, where they found three more bodies.

The victims were believed to be related to the gunman, Carlson said.

Around 3 a.m. (1000 GMT), police notified neighbors of an emergency situation and evacuated several blocks, Carlson said in a news briefing outside the row of beige townhouses in this middle-class Aurora neighborhood, just outside Denver.

One person inside had escaped and alerted authorities, she said.

Around 8 a.m., the gunman fired on a police vehicle, leading to an exchange of gunfire, KMGH television said. At that time police saw the first body, the station reported.

Carlson said the gunman, whose name has not been released, died just before 9 a.m.

A neighbor, Michael Ignace, 46, said he had spoken to the gunman and “he seemed like a reasonable guy, and we talked about motorcycles.”

Police entered Ignace’s apartment during the night and alerted him, but he chose to stay in his house, he said.

The same Denver suburb was rocked by the mass shooting in July that had been the deadliest in the United States of 2012 until the December 14 massacre at an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut, where 28 died, including the shooter.

In Aurora, the gunman opened fire during a midnight screening of the Batman movie “The Dark Knight Rises.” Police identified former neuroscience graduate student James Holmes as the suspect in a crime that renewed debate about the sale of powerful semi-automatic rifles and extended capacity magazines.

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The Tuesday afternoon shooting frenzy at the Clackamas Town Center in the Portland suburb of Happy Valley triggered pandemonium inside the mall at the height of the busy holiday season, sending thousands of shoppers streaming out of the complex as authorities arrived on the scene.

Two people were shot to death and the lone gunman died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Police were expected to release the identities of the dead at a news conference in the nearby town of Clackamas on Wednesday.

In the meantime, a 15-year-old girl wounded in the attack was listed in serious condition, a hospital official said. She was identified as Kristina Shevchenko.

“The family is doing OK,” said her brother, Yevgeniy, declining to comment further.

In a Facebook posting on Tuesday night, he said: “As of now she is stable and sleeping. The bullet went (through) bruising her lung, it missed any vital organs and it missed her ribs. She will need two more operations. We appreciate any and all support including your prayers! Thank you.”

Authorities remained baffled at what led the suspect to open fire in the mall, the latest in a flurry of U.S. gun violence this year, most notably the killing of 12 people and wounding of 58 others at a midnight screening of the Batman film “The Dark Knight Rises” in Colorado in July.

“It did not appear as though he was targeting any specific individuals,” Clackamas County Sheriff Craig Roberts told the NBC morning news program “Today.” “It really looked as though it was a random shooting.”



MISSION TO TAKE LIVES AT MALL

Asked what may have motivated him to carry out the attack, Roberts said, “He had a mission set forth to take the lives of people at that mall.” Roberts added that he believed the shooting only came to a halt after the gun jammed.

Undersheriff Matt Ellington said on CNN that police had recovered a rifle, multiple shell casings and a mask matching the one witnesses said was worn by the shooter. He said the gunman had no known connection to those he shot.

Police converging on the mall on Tuesday evacuated terrified shoppers, who were reported by local media and via Twitter to have hidden in the back rooms of shops as gunshots rang out in the 1.4 million-square-foot mall.

High school student Hannah Baggs, 14, told the Oregonian newspaper that she got a close look at the gunman before he entered the mall and opened fire.

“He was, like, 10 feet away from us, wearing a white mask and carrying something heavy with both hands,” Baggs said in a report on the newspaper’s website. “He went running into the store.”

Police and SWAT teams established a perimeter around the scene and worked to evacuate the mall as they searched for the gunman. Video footage from inside the mall, aired on CNN, showed shoppers heading toward exits with their arms raised above their heads.

Ellington said the Clackamas Town Center mall had been used recently by police for a mass evacuation drill.

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The 23-year-old shooter, who had not yet been identified, was on a night shift at the Pathmark grocery when he left the store at about 3:30 a.m. EDT (0730 GMT) and returned shortly after with an AK-47 and a handgun, Middlesex County Prosecutor Bruce Kaplan told a news conference.

Shots were heard inside the supermarket in Old Bridge, about 35 miles from New York City, just before 4 a.m. EDT (0800 GMT) as employees were preparing to open the store for business.

The two victims, identified as an 18-year-old female and a 24-year-old male, were Pathmark employees and were among a dozen workers in the store at the time. They were shot in separate areas of the store, Kaplan said.

“He entered the store firing his weapons,” and magazines were found scattered around the store, Kaplan said.

The incident comes just one week after an unemployed New York City man shot and killed a former co-worker near the Empire State Building before being shot dead by police.

In July, a gunman opened fire in a crowded Colorado movie theater, killing 12 people, and earlier this month a white supremacist opened fire in a Sikh temple in Wisconsin, leaving seven people dead.

Old Bridge Mayor Owen Henry described the suspected shooter as a former marine and a disgruntled worker who had been employed by the Pathmark for just a few weeks, the Star-Ledger newspaper said.

“This is the worst phone call a mayor can receive,” Henry told the newspaper. “You can prepare for these things but you can’t prevent them.”

Kaplan said he could not confirm details about the shooter beyond his age.

Hours after the shooting, the store remained closed and police had blocked off one of the roads leading up to the shopping plaza that houses the Pathmark.

Local residents expressed shock that violence had come to their community.

“It’s a quiet neighborhood,” said Maritza Hernandez, whose daughter works as a cashier at the Pathmark but was not at the store when the shooting occurred.

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The gunman, identified by police as Jeffrey Johnson, confronted former co-worker Steven Ercolino outside the Empire State Building and shot him at close range in the head, killing him. Johnson was then shot and killed by police after he turned his gun on them, a move his mother believed was strategic so the officers would shoot and kill him. Nine other people were injured in the crossfire.

He had lost his job as a designer for Hazan Imports, located within the building, about a year ago, and his mother said he blamed Ercolino, a salesman, for not selling enough of the line he designed. She found out about her son’s actions and his death by watching the news.

“I know there are a lot of Jeffrey Johnsons in the world, and a lot of Jeffrey Johnsons in New York City, but when they said the company he used to work for, I just went to pieces,” his mother told The New York Times.

She asked The Times to withhold her first name and hometown in Georgia to protect her privacy. Ms. Johnson, who is in her 80s, said she racked her brain trying to figure out what caused her son’s violent behavior. She considered a childhood car accident that caused him brain trauma, his marksmanship training for the Coast Guard, even the recent death of his beloved pet. She said Johnson wrote in a letter that “life has been diminished tenfold” since the death of his cat Romeo.

Johnson attended the Ringling College of Art and Design in Sarasota, Florida. He then joined the Coast Guard and got married, but he and his wife divorced four years later. That was more than thirty years ago, his mother said. He moved to NYC about 10 years ago. His mother had not seen him for 22 years, but they spoke over the phone every Sunday, she said. She had not heard from him, though, since April 6 when he called to wish her a happy birthday.

“I don’t blame police in New York for shooting my son, because he killed somebody, —but for me, he hasn’t changed,” she said. “He’s still the kindhearted, caring person who loved all kinds of animals and I’m sure he loved us. You know a mother always tries to look for the best in you.”

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Johnson, who lived in Manhattan, was laid off from his job as a women’s accessory designer at Hazan Imports, located inside the Empire State Building, about a year ago. He had worked for the company for six years.

In a press conference at the crime scene, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly, joined by Mayor Michael Bloomberg, said Johnson, dressed in a gray suit and carrying a briefcase, approached a former co-worker outside the Empire State Building just after 9 a.m. and fatally shot him in the head.

“In a dispute in front of the building, he produced a pistol and struck at close range, striking a 41-year-old man in the head,” Kelly said.

Authorities identified the victim as Steve Ercolino. Police said Johnson and Ercolino had a long-running dispute and each had filed complaints against the other, although the exact nature of those complaints is not clear.

Irene Timan, who worked with Ercolino, said she was walking shoulder to shoulder with him when Johnson appeared from behind a white van, according to the New York Times.

“I saw him pull a gun out from his jacket, and I thought to myself, ‘Oh my God, he’s going to shoot him’ — and I wanted to turn and push Steve out of the way,” Timan told the Times. “I knew it, I just knew it was going to happen. But it was too late. Steve screamed, Jeff shot him, and I just turned and ran.”

Police approached Johnson after a construction worker notified two officers about him. Johnson allegedly pointed his weapon at the officers and fired, and they returned several shots, striking and killing him.

Mayor Bloomberg said, during the chaos, several other people were injured in the crossfire, possibly in shots fired by police.

Eight were injured at the scene, in addition to the victim and the shooter. They were transported to Bellevue Hospital and New York Presbyterian Hospital. They are all expected to recover.

“I ask that everyone keep the victims in their prayers,” Bloomberg said this morning. “This is a terrible tragedy.”

Those who were near the Empire State Building when the shooting happened were shocked.

“I heard all of the sirens going by while I was in class,” said Francine Oliveira, 33, who takes college courses a half-block away from the scene. “I asked the teacher what was going on, and she said it was normal, not to worry about it. It wasn’t until some of my classmates started getting text messages from friends did we find out what happened.”

In the wake of several mass shootings this year, many were unnerved by the incident, although police said it did not appear to be a terrorist attack.

“It’s very confusing, and unsettling,” said Manhattan resident Eric Moriarty, 30. “I don’t like walking around wondering when somebody is going to lose it. It makes me very uncomfortable. I walk by the Empire State Building every day; I’ve been in the Heartland Brewery a thousand times. This really felt close to home for me.”

Roads surrounding the popular tourist attraction were reopened in the afternoon.

(Photo via Instragram: ryanstryin)

Another shooting victim outside the Empire State Building.

(Photos by Miles Dixon)

Police block the entrance to the Empire State Building.

Miles Dixon contributed reporting.

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The FDNY confirmed at least seven people are being treated after the shooting, which broke out at 9 am. Four people were actually shot and two people were killed, according to NBC New York. One of those people is reportedly the gunman, who was shot and killed by NYPD officers.

The other injuries are a result of people being trampled as bystanders fled the scene in panic immediately after the shooting.

The shooting took place in front of the building near 33rd Street and Fifth Avenue.

Victims of the shooting have been transported from the scene.

The gunman may have been a disgruntled employee who was fired from his job at a business inside the building yesterday. He reportedly tried to re-enter the building this morning, but was turned away by security. That’s when he exited the building and opened fire.

A large police presence, joined by the FBI, is still at the Empire State Building. The NYPD would not confirm details.

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A masked gunman killed 14 people at a midnight showing of the new Batman movie in a suburb of Denver early on Friday, sparking pandemonium when he hurled a teargas canister into the auditorium and opened fire on moviegoers.

Fifty others including children were wounded in the attack on the showing of “The Dark Knight Rises” in a mall in the Aurora suburb, some of whom were treated for the effects of tear gas, hospital officials said.

“This is a horrific event,” Aurora Police Chief Dan Oates told a news conference, adding that a suspect was taken into custody in the parking lot behind the theater.

Police said the Aurora gunman had appeared at the front of the theater during the movie and released a canister which let out a hissing sound at the theater before gunfire erupted.

Dozens of police were at the scene, and the authorities evacuated the area while they checked for any explosive devices. They said there was no evidence of a second gunman.

Wendy Post, who was waiting to be reunited with her daughter at a local high school following the shooting, said her daughter told her the shooting erupted just minutes after the film began.

“She saw the exit door open and something was thrown across the screen, and then shooting started,” she told local NBC affiliate 9News television. “It was chaos.”

President Barack Obama, who was notified of the shooting on Friday morning by his homeland security adviser, John Brennan, urged Americans to “stand together” with the people of Aurora in the hours and days to come.

“Michelle and I are shocked and saddened by the horrific and tragic shooting in Colorado. Federal and local law enforcement are still responding, and my administration will do everything that we can to support the people of Aurora in this extraordinarily difficult time,” Obama said in a statement.

“As we do when confronted by moments of darkness and challenge, we must now come together as one American family,” he added.

Colorado has suffered mass killings in the past. In 1999, two students opened fire at Columbine High School in the suburb of Littleton, near Denver, killing 12 students and a teacher.

PEOPLE SCREAMING

Police spokesman Frank Fania said the suspect was thought to be in his early 20s. He was carrying a knife, a rifle and a handgun when arrested, and one other gun was recovered from the theater. The gunman was also wearing a bulletproof vest.

“He did not resist, he did not put up a fight,” Fania said.

Police said the suspect’s apartment building had been evacuated and police were looking for explosives there after the suspect made statements about explosives in his residence.

CNN quoted one witness as saying he saw a “guy slowly making his way up the stairs and firing, picking random people.” Another witness said the gunman opened fire during a shoot-out scene in the movie, leading to confusion.

“We heard anywhere from 10 to 20 shots and little explosions going on. Shortly after that we heard people screaming. Then they came on PA system and said everyone needed to get out,” one witness told CNN.

“As soon as we got out, there were people running around and screaming.” He said friends had told him the gunman was wearing a gas mask.

One man told the NBC affiliate that he was in the adjacent theater watching another screening of the Batman movie when he heard gunshots and the theatre filled with thick, choking smoke.

He saw bullets holes in the wall, and some people in his theater were wounded: “I heard moaning…they were in pain.”

Fania said police received the first call about the shooting at 12:39 a.m. local time (06:39 GMT) and responded within “a minute or two.”

Local hospitals were alerted to a “mass casualty incident.” Media reports said 10 people died at the scene and four died later in hospital.

A spokeswoman for Denver’s Swedish Medical Center said three people had been admitted to that hospital with gunshot wounds and were in critical condition. Another hospital, Denver Health, had received six wounded, one of whom was in critical condition, spokeswoman Kalena Wilkinson said.

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Four boys and one girl had been hospitalized after the 7:30 a.m. shooting at Chardon High School that sent students fleeing in panic. The suspect, a male youth, was in custody, police said.

“One student has passed away. That’s the sad news for all of us today,” Chardon Police Chief Tim McKenna said at a news conference.

The student was identified as Daniel Parmentor, 17, who studied computer science at a nearby vocational school and was waiting in the cafeteria for a bus when the gunman opened fire.

“We are shocked by this senseless tragedy,” said a statement from Parmentor’s family. “Danny was a bright young boy who had a bright future ahead of him. The family is torn by this loss.”

He was one of three victims flown to MetroHealth System’s trauma center in Cleveland, where another boy was in critical condition and undergoing surgery, said Maggie Lynch, school superintendent in nearby Auburn. The girl and another boy were in stable and serious condition at a suburban hospital.

The Ohio shooting is the worst at a U.S. high school in 11 months, according to the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence.

Emergency vehicles rushed to the scene as students streamed from the building. The entire school district, about 35 miles east of Cleveland, was closed for the day.

“The remainder of our students are safe, home with their parents,” said an emotional Joseph Bergant, superintendent of Chardon schools. He praised the teachers, who had been through disaster training and acted immediately to protect the students.

The shootings started in the cafeteria and the suspect was chased by a teacher out of the building, the Geauga County Sheriff’s Department said. He later turned himself in, it said.

Authorities did not identify the shooter or the teacher.

A Chardon student, Danielle Samples, 16, said she was in the cafeteria when she heard a series of “pops” and someone yelled to run down the hallway into a classroom. She then heard another round of pops.

“It hasn’t hit me yet,” Samples said in an interview. “It’s very surreal.”

She said the shooter attended Lake Academy in Willoughby, which serves at-risk kids. He was at Chardon waiting for a bus. She said the student lived with his grandparents and sister.

“He’s quiet,” Samples said.

A representative of Lake Academy said the incident was being investigated and would not comment.

Police have not identified the gunman, but students, parents and local media said his name was T.J. Lane. By early afternoon, police and FBI had surrounded a house in a rural part of Chardon identified in public records as belonging to Thomas Lane.

The deadliest school shooting in the United States was the 2007 massacre at Virginia Tech University that left 33 people dead. The worst high school shooting was the 1999 attack at Columbine High School in Colorado that killed 12 students and a teacher.

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Public safety officials at VT weren’t going to take any chances. Three juveniles on campus for a summer camp at the school reported seeing a gunman near Dietrick dining hall just after 9 am Friday morning. Officials decided the report was credible and made the decision immediately to issue an alert to students and put the school on lockdown.

Students and faculty were no doubt haunted by memories of the massacre that happened there in 2007 when VT student Seung-Hui Cho gunned down 32 people before turning the gun on himself. Today, though, no one was hurt and police have made no arrests, but they did release this composite sketch.

Virginia Tech and schools across the country have learned from the past. Most colleges have beefed up their security measurements as technology has allowed for more direct alert systems.

Columbia University in NYC has a text message alert system as well as an online checklist in case of emergencies. On it, students are advised to turn off lights, close blinds, and take cover behind concrete walls, thick desks and filing cabinets in the event of an “active shooter incident.”

New York University has a list of emergency safety locations on its department of public safety website. MBJ Dry Cleaners on West Houston Street and Ben’s Pizza on MacDougall Street are among dozens of places throughout the city that NYU has deemed “safe havens.”

Like Columbia, NYU also has the capability to issue text message blasts to students and faculty in case of emergency. But students need to register their up-to-date cell phone numbers through the school’s website before they can get those alerts.

Does your school have a text message alert system? Have you registered yet?


More essential info for your life at college at EducationOption.

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