Man with gun-shaped lighter triggers campus alert at UW Seattle
Oct 23, 2025, 10:38 AM
Lights on a police vehicle activated near a crime scene. (MyNorthwest file photo)
(MyNorthwest file photo)
False reports of a man brandishing a firearm on the University of Washington’s (UW) Seattle campus prompted an immediate police response on Thursday.
At 9:45 a.m., the UW Alert Blog announced that the UW Police Department was responding to reports of a man, described as being in his 50s, with a gun outside of Schmitz Hall.
An update at 9:53 a.m. stated that the man was acting erratically inside the ground floor of the Hans Rosling Center for Population Health.
The man reportedly left the building and was seen walking north on 15th Ave. N.E.
An additional report indicated that there was an individual at a bus stop outside of Schmitz Hall, possibly in possession of a gun.
UWPD responded to the area and found an individual outside of Schmitz Hall who was not armed.
At 10:15 a.m., UWPD revealed that a suspect in connection with the earlier reports had been located. The man from the earlier reports was not armed, but was in possession of a lighter that resembled a firearm.
Follow Jason Sutich on X. Send news tips here.
