UVA-Wise gunman was a student hoax

By MELINDA WILLIAMS

melinda@southwesttimes.com

WISE – A Martinsville resident has been charged in connection with a hoax that lead to a lockdown on the UVA-Wise campus in Wise County Wednesday night.

According to Associated Press, Bryant Alexander Hairston, a sophomore psychology major at the university was charged with falsely summoning law enforcement to the campus.

Corinne Geller, a spokeswoman for Virginia State Police, said shortly after the incident that a student called 911 just before 9 p.m. to report that he had seen a man on campus armed with a gun. The college was placed on lockdown and law enforcement from five agencies responded to conduct a building-to-building search.

However, Geller said the lockdown was lifted when the student admitted during questioning that the report was a hoax.

Geller said Thursday morning that state police were on the scene until at least 1 a.m.

Hairston is barred from the campus pending a review of the charges, AP reports.