CCRI Warwick lockdown lifted, police find pellet rifle

WARWICK, R.I. — The Community College of Rhode Island Warwick campus was placed on lockdown Tuesday morning after reports of a person possibly carrying a firearm in a nearby wooded area.

Police responded shortly before 9 a.m. to the area off Commonwealth Avenue after a report of a suspicious person entering the woods with what appeared to be a weapon protruding from a backpack.

As a precaution, the campus initiated a lockdown that lasted several hours, with classes suspended and students and staff instructed to shelter in place. 

During a search of the wooded area, officers located a backpack containing what were later identified as a pellet rifle and an airsoft-style gun. 

Authorities said the individual believed to be connected to the backpack was not immediately located, but there was no indication of an active threat to the campus or surrounding community. 

The lockdown was lifted around early afternoon after police determined it was safe to resume normal operations. 

Officials said the decision to lock down the campus was made out of an abundance of caution as officers worked to investigate the report.