Airsoft Gun Sparked Massachusetts College Campus Lockdown, Cops Say

Turns out the gun that sent a Massachusetts college campus into full lockdown mode wasn't real at all -- cops say it was an airsoft replica carried by a juvenile, sparking hours of chaos and fear across campus.

The scare erupted Wednesday on the campus of UMass Lowell when video circulated on social media of a person near a dorm holding what looked like a firearm. Students immediately barricaded themselves inside classrooms and residence halls while heavily armed cops swarmed the university.

On Thursday, Lowell Police confirmed the weapon had been recovered and it was nothing more than an airsoft gun. The suspect, a juvenile, has since been identified.

Police said surveillance and student video captured the suspect, but no shots were fired. Law enforcement defended the massive response, stressing that while the weapon proved to be an airsoft gun, police will always deploy every resource until the community's safety is secured.

The panic comes amid a string of recent mass shootings across the U.S., leaving schools, campuses and communities on edge. Just last week, two children were killed and at least 20 others injured when a gunman fired more than 100 rounds through the windows of a Minneapolis church during morning Mass.