Shelter in place ordered at CCRI’s Lincoln campus
LINCOLN, R.I. (WPRI) — A Woonsocket man is in custody after police say he caused a lockdown Thursday afternoon at CCRI’s Flanagan campus in Lincoln.
by: Shaun Towne, Tim White
Junior Sage, 48, was arrested without incident a short time after he got onto campus, according to police.
Lincoln Police Chief Dennis Fleming said it started with a 911 call around 12:30 p.m. that a man had threatened someone else with a knife on board a RIPTA bus.
The suspect got off at CCRI, and responding officers were told he was armed with a knife and a gun.
Witnesses helped the officers locate the suspect, who was found to have an airsoft-style pistol and two small pocket knives on him, according to police.
“He was apprehended at the bus stop, so if he was in the building, he’d made his way back outside,” Lincoln Town Administrator Philip Gould said during a news conference Thursday afternoon.
Sage is being held at the ACI pending his arraignment Friday. He’s been charged with possession of a firearm by a prohibited person, carrying a pistol without a license or permit, three counts of felony assault, disorderly conduct and obstruction. Police confirmed he was on probation at the time of his arrest.
WATCH: Armed suspect arrested at CCRI Lincoln campus (Story continues below.)
Students and staff at CCRI were ordered to shelter in place around 12:45 p.m.
The lockdown was lifted about 45 minutes later after police conducted a sweep of the campus and determined it was safe.
The lockdown sent the campus into a state of disarray and panic. One student said she “never really thought this type of stuff would happen in Rhode Island.”
“I don’t really know how to feel,” she continued. “I’m glad I and the other students and professors are safe, but it’s scary. It’s a really bad epidemic going on in America. I wish it would stop.”
The nearby Davies Career and Technical Center was also locked down as a precaution.
No other CCRI campuses were involved, but the initial alert sent out by the school indicated that something was happening in Warwick. It told recipients to run, hide or fight, depending on their location.
“So obviously, people start getting nervous, people start leaving,” the student continued. “Then it turns out we were on lockdown, so we were just sitting around in the parking lot wondering, ‘What do we do now?’”
CCRI’s interim president, Rosemary Costigan, said they’re looking into why there was mixed messaging.
“Our campuses are safe and this was a very scary incident, so I’m not taking any of that away. But the important thing is that our processes worked and that no one was hurt,” Costigan said.
A CCRI spokesperson said the school will offer counseling services in the coming days.