The Massachusetts College of Art and Design and the Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston were temporarily locked down on Wednesday afternoon after a report of an armed person that wound up being someone who was doing a Halloween photo shoot with a fake gun.
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Police said they were called to the area of 600 Huntington Ave. around 1:15 p.m. for a report of an armed person, but about two hours later they issued an all clear once the gun was determined to be fake.
"Earlier this afternoon, a Wentworth student reported an armed person in the area of a residence hall on MassArt's campus," MassArt said in a statement. "The Boston Police Department was called immediately, is on scene and controlling the investigation."
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The college also said police had set up a perimeter around the building.
MassArt, located at 621 Huntington Avenue, said on Twitter shortly after 2 p.m. that a lockdown was in progress. They later said that all evening classes have been canceled "out of an abundance of caution."
The Wentworth Institute of Technology, which is located at 550 Huntington Avenue, sent out a similar message shortly before 2:30 p.m. that a lockdown was in progress. They said in a follow-up tweet at 3:20 p.m. that the scene had been cleared and the lockdown lifted.
Boston Latin School, which is located a short distance away, was also put into safe mode during the investigation.
Anyone who was on the two college campuses was advised to stay where they are, lock their doors and wait for the all clear message.
Photos from the scene during the investigation showed a large, heavily armed police presence on Huntington Avenue. Dozens of students waited outside for word on what was happening.
No further details were immediately available.
