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UMass Lowell shooting: Alert for incident at Riverview suites, South campus - What is happening?
An alert was sent for an incident at Riverview Suites, South Campus, in the University of Massachusetts Lowell on Wednesday.
UPDATE: There is no active shooter situation, no evidence of shots fired at University of Massachusetts Lowell (UML), police said. The status of the suspect (seen in a circulating video) is unclear.
Original story
An alert was sent for an incident at Riverview Suites, South Campus, in the University of Massachusetts Lowell on Wednesday. It's the first day of school at UMass Lowell.
"UML emergency: reported weapons incident @ Riverview Suites, South Campus. Police/. Emergency responders en route. Avoid the area. Stay inside until further notice. Run, hide, fight," an alert sent to students and staff members read.
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Another alert added that the police department is looking for a 5’5 Asian male wearing a gray or white sweatshirt and black shorts carrying a long weapon, last seen near Riverview suites on UMASS campus.
Rep Lori Trahan shared a statement on social media saying she was monitoring the situation.
“I'm actively monitoring the alert of a potentially armed individual near UMass Lowell’s South Campus and in touch with local officials. If you are in Lowell, please follow directions from Lowell Police Department (Official) and UMass Lowell,” she wrote on X, platform formerly known as Twitter.
Lowell scanner, meanwhile, reported that police officers are on scene for reports of an individual with a rifle. “Lowell PD and UML PD on scene, UMass Lowell south campus, for reports of an Individual with a Rifle. UML had sent out an alert to all students. Avoid Broadway St. from Wilder to Pawtucket,” it read.
This comes only days after a shooter, identified as 23-year-old Robin Westman, opened fire in a school-affiliated church in Minneapolis. Police over the weekend raised the number of injured to 21, 18 children ages 6 to 15 and three adults. The suspect died by suicide after firing 116 rifle rounds through the church’s stained-glass windows as hundreds of students from the nearby Annunciation Catholic School and others gathered for Mass.
While investigators last week said they had not found a clear motive for the attack, the shooter had connections to the school. Westman's mother worked for the parish before retiring in 2021, and Westman once attended the school. Acting US Attorney Joe Thompson said last week that the shooter left behind videos and writings that "expressed hate towards almost every group imaginable” but admiration for mass killers.
