MIT waited to warn of campus shooter

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CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Feb. 25 (UPI) -- Officials at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology wouldn't say why they waited 84 minutes to notify faculty and students of a possible gunman on campus.

Cambridge police were notified at 7:28 a.m. Saturday of a report -- eventually proved false -- of a man with a gun inside 77 Massachusetts Ave., where the school's admissions office is housed. Police arrived on the scene and searched the building room-by-room, the Boston Herald said Sunday. No gunman was ever found.

Despite the ongoing search, MIT did not send out a "precautionary" text message alert to the campus at large until 8:52 a.m. -- 84 minutes after police were informed of the threat.

Police cleared the area by 10:30 a.m., saying, "No armed suspects were found in the building or on campus and police believe that the event, as reported, did not occur."

A school spokeswoman asked why the text alert wasn't sent sooner said, "MIT does not comment on ongoing investigations."

"As further details and specifics become available, we will update them," MIT spokeswoman Sarah McDonnell said.