Va. university lockdown ends; gun report a hoax

WISE, Va. (AP) -- A lockdown at a Virginia university has been lifted after state police determined a report of a gunman on campus to be a hoax.

Virginia State Police Public Relations Director Corinne N. Geller said in a news release Wednesday night that police officers from various departments who flooded the campus following the initial report were leaving and the lockdown was being lifted.

Geller said that the UVA-Wise student called 911 shortly before 9 p.m. to report that he had seen an armed gunman on campus. She said police officers from the university, town, county and state immediately responded and began a building-by-building search while state police agents interviewed the student.

Geller said during that interview, "the student confessed that it was a hoax."