Police Release Description of Suspected Manchester Community College Gunman

Manchester Police released information and a description Wednesday evening of the suspected gunman who caused the Manchester Community College campus to be placed on lockdown for most of the day, although no gunman was found at the scene. The only injury reported was a police officer, who suffered a foot injury "as a result of an apparent accident discharge of a weapon." 

Police said that a female student called them at approximately 1:30 p.m. Wednesday afternoon after she "observed a heavy-set Hispanic male walking through the hallway with a handgun protruding out from his waistband."

Numerous local and state police were dispatched to the campus, and students and staff were instructed to "shelter in place," although police said many students still left the campus while police were arriving.

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Manchester Police Cpt. Christopher Davis, the department's spokesman, declined to release the name of the office who suffered the injury or any details about the incident, but said the officer was transported via police cruiser to Hartford Hospital. 

As of approximately 7:50 p.m. Wednesday evening, Davis said the entire MCC campus had been "secured," although no gunman was found. 

"It is important to note that conducting such a search is a methodical task, comprising vast amounts of classrooms - some of which contained several hundred students that needed to be searched prior to being released," Davis said. 

The gunman was described as "a heavy-set Hispanic male, about 5’8 – 5’10, wearing a red short sleeved shirt." Davis said police are still investigating that portion of the incident.