Students React to Campus Lockdown

We now know there was no weapon in that emergency situation at Illinois State University, Tuesday. Police say the incident started between an ISU Student and a male from Chicago, who wasn't a student; it then turned into a campus on high alert all afternoon.
 
Here's a timeline of how the situation played out. At 1:30 p.m. a female Illinois State student contacted her friend, saying her acquaintance, Nathan Thomas, from Chicago had a weapon.

The friend then calls ISU Police within the hour.
Now, here, there's a lapse of time between the call to police and the alert going out to the students because of the back and forth between the girl, her friend, and police.

At 3:25 p.m. a mass alert goes out to campus and students.
Then within 20 minutes, all residence halls and dining centers are restricted to only current residents.
At 4:22 ISU Police take Nathan Thomas into custody.

The campus lockdown was lifted shortly after. And students say they feel even better about the way the school responded.

What seemed like a scary situation didn't turn out to be like police feared. Police now say the man did not have a weapon. So that's definitely a sigh of relief for many on campus. Still, today's scare gave many a sense of comfort in a case of a real threat.
 
Junior Matt Braski says he was in class when his phone started vibrating around 3:30 p.m.
It was an email saying that someone with a weapon could be on campus.

"It seemed like the school really locked down the building. You couldn't get out or into them," says Braski.

Police say a tip about a possibly armed man visiting campus was later found to be untrue.
But not before, the school decided it needed to do something its only done 3 times in 3 years.

ISU Spokesman Jay Groves says, "That triggered an immediate emergency response system from the ISU communication team and we put out an emergency alert."

The alert system automatically sends emails, texts, and updated alerts online. He says students were told to take shelter. Police say threats like this can't be taken lightly.

ISU Police Cheif Aaron Woodruff says, "We were fortunate that we only think this is a domestic dispute between two parties, but we definitely want to keep students informed. We didn't think that the entire school was in danger, but we thought students should know about it."

Braski says he's satisfied with the school's response and he felt safe with updates at his fingertips. And if it happened again, he wouldn't want them to change a thing.

"I'm glad that I know," adds Braski. "Anybody could have a gun on them at anytime and you need to be cautious about it."

This all started after a man allegedly threatened to shoot a student. That student then assumed he had a gun and reacted. The ISU Police Chief says Nathan Thomas, who allegedly threatened a student, is being charged with disorderly conduct.