Active shooter situation reported on the campus of Virginia Commonwealth

“Avoid the area, ” the university announcement said”.

The Virginia Commonwealth University campus downtown was set on edge late Friday morning by reports of an armed subject on campus.

The suspect is described as male, wearing a military style hat and backpack.

A possible armed person was earlier reported to be on the Virginia Commonwealth University campus in Richmond, with the school posting an alert message on its website.

The alert system broadcast the all clear shortly before 11 p.m., telling students and faculty to “resume normal activity and report any unusual activity to police”.

The scare comes just one day after a gunman opened fire at Umpqua Community College in Oregon, killing nine and injuring nine more in the worst mass shooting in the state’s recent history. “VCU Police on scene.”

Police tell Fox News they are still searching the area. That shooter died following an exchange of gunfire with police.

“We stress that it is perfectly legal in Virginia to openly carry a weapon”, Mercante said.