No gun at CSU San Marcos, just umbrella
A man spotted with what looked to be a rifle at Cal State San Marcos touched off a lockdown and an intense search Wednesday, but turned out to be a staffer carrying a long umbrella in a case slung over his shoulder.
A witness called police about 9 a.m. to report seeing a white man, between 30- to 40-years-old, with a shaved head and wearing a black shirt, carrying what appeared to be a long gun on university grounds.
School wasn’t in session — the fall semester begins Monday — but the report sent the campus into immediate lockdown. San Marcos sheriff’s deputies set up a perimeter and hunted for a man with a gun. Shortly after 9:30 a.m., they found their suspect: an umbrella-toting staffer.
The ending may have left some chuckling and poking fun on Twitter, but the person who alerted authorities “did the right thing,” Sheriff’s Capt. Scott Ybarrondo said.
Rain is rare enough in sunny San Diego County, even without the drought. But Wednesday’s weather was notable in North County, which got a good dose of rain, along with thunder and lightning.
