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Reports of gunmen put three NC universities under lockdown

Three N.C. universities were on lockdown last week after gunmen were reportedly spotted on each campus — but outcomes ranged from a student being shot to an umbrella being mistaken for a rifle.

Shots were reportedly fired on Elizabeth City State University’s campus Thursday night, and the school went into lockdown. No students were injured, according to a university news release.

The campus went into lockdown again Saturday night, and one student was shot and taken to the hospital. The student, 23-year-old Jake Laumoli, has been released from the hospital, according to the release.

The release said the shooting was in retaliation for a fight that occurred earlier that night. It is unclear if the two lockdowns this weekend were related.

North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University also went into lockdown Friday morning when a gunman was spotted on campus. But upon reviewing video footage, police said the rifle was an umbrella.

Deanna Ho, a sophomore at N.C. A&T, said her classroom was evacuated because it had windows. She also said SWAT teams searched dorms.

“They didn’t know if it was real, so I’m glad they went through all the precautions,” Ho said.

A few hours after N.C. A&T’s lockdown was lifted, N.C. Central University went into lockdown on Friday afternoon, following an attempted armed robbery.

Meredith Clark, a UNC-CH journalism Ph.D. student, was teaching a class at NCCU when the lockdown began.

The situation was especially alarming, she said, because her door didn’t lock from the inside, and there was no classroom phone.

“I moved a desk in front of the door, but if by chance someone had come through the door, there was no stopping someone,” she said. “And there was no way for me to immediately tap into the network at school.”

Ayana Hernandez, NCCU spokeswoman, said she thought most doors at the university locked from inside.

NCCU conducted a large active shooter drill to test its alert and lockdown system in January, she said.

As of Friday, the investigation was still pending, she said.

Contact the desk editor at state@dailytarheel.com.

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