Teenagers taken into custody after report of gun at UMD; campus declared safe

University of Minnesota Duluth
University of Minnesota Duluth campus in Duluth, Minn.
MPR Photo/Bob Kelleher

Two teenagers were taken into custody Thursday morning at the University of Minnesota Duluth after police responded to a report of a gun on campus.

Duluth Police spokesman Jim Hansen says one of the suspects was carrying what's called an Airsoft pistol. He says it looks like a real gun, but fires a plastic pellet rather than a bullet.

The incident took place just after 7 a.m. The teenage boys, neither of whom is a university student, were taken into custody as they headed toward a science building in an outdoor plaza where students board buses.

Campus is now safe, according to the university, and no longer under alert.

The university alerted students with a text message this morning advising them to shelter in place. Later, the university said that two suspects had been taken into custody, and that no threats exist on campus.

The two suspects, ages 15 and 19, are facing charges of disorderly conduct, underage consumption and possession of drugs.

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