The lockdowns at Broward College's Davie campus and six other area schools ended Thursday afternoon with police finding their suspect: A woman who officers said had a gun-shaped lighter.
Davie police said they searched for the woman after a witness told officers the woman had walked into a library at the college and removed what looked like a gun from her pocket.
The woman then put the object back into her pocket and left the library, police said.
The witness account prompted Broward College to send an alert through its emergency-notification system, which spreads word of situations via text messages, phone calls, emails, Facebook and Twitter. Such alerts in an instant send safety warnings to more than 66,000 faculty, staff and students.
In addition to Broward College, also placed on lockdown were Davie Elementary, McFatter Technical Center, Nova Blanche Forman Elementary, Nova Eisenhower Elementary, Nova Middle School and Nova High School.
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When the lockdown was in effect, aerial images showed a strong police presence at the college. Officers were seen closing off certain roads.
This story will be updated as more information becomes available.
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