Campus Alert Archive
Seminole State

'A Gun in the Pocket of a Hoodie' Locks Down Sanford/Lake Mary for Nearly Two Hours

FLlockdownemergency notificationhigh confidence
UnfoundedNo evidence of an actual threat was found. The institutional response is documented because the alert communication is identical to what would occur during a real incident.

Seminole State College of Florida's Sanford/Lake Mary campus was placed on lockdown around 11 a.m. on Monday, April 4, 2022, after a student reported a suspicious person who appeared to have a gun in the pocket of a hoodie. FOX 35 Orlando reported deputies located the subject, who was not armed. WFTV reported the lockdown was lifted at 12:53 p.m.

Alerts
2
Response
—
Killed
—
Injured
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Institution
Seminole State College of Florida
Community College · FL
~30,000 studentsSeminole State Alert
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

2 messages in sequence · 2 verified verbatim

INITIAL ALERTTwitter/X
Verified verbatimSeminole State College official Twitter/X account (@SeminoleState) lockdown tweet, quoted verbatim by ClickOrlando, FOX 35 Orlando, and WFTV in their April 4, 2022 coverage166 chars
Law enforcement has instructed us to lock down the Sanford/Lake Mary Campus due to police activity. If you are on campus, go to the nearest room and shelter in place.
Verbatim from the @SeminoleState Twitter account, quoted by ClickOrlando, FOX 35 Orlando, and WFTV on April 4, 2022
The trigger was a single student's visual report of an apparent gun in a hoodie pocket — no weapon was ultimately found, and the incident resolved as unfounded
A Seminole County Sheriff's Office school resource deputy received the report at about 11:09 a.m. EDT, illustrating how a campus-based deputy can initiate a college-wide lockdown
ALL CLEARTwitter/X
Verified verbatimSeminole State College official Twitter/X account all-clear tweet at 12:53 p.m. EDT, quoted verbatim by FOX 35 Orlando and WFTV134 chars
Law enforcement has ended the lock down on the Sanford/Lake Mary Campus. It is safe to move about campus and resume normal activities.
Verbatim from the @SeminoleState Twitter account, quoted by FOX 35 Orlando and WFTV; lockdown lifted at 12:53 p.m. EDT
The transition from 'lock down' (two words, initial alert) to 'lock down' (two words, all-clear) is consistent across both tweets — this appears to be the college's preferred hyphenation
'Move about campus and resume normal activities' is the standard Seminole State all-clear formula, parallel to the initial 'go to the nearest room and shelter in place'
Context

Background

Seminole State College of Florida is a state college north of Orlando with multiple campuses, including Sanford/Lake Mary, and uses the Seminole State Alert notification system. On April 4, 2022, at about 11:09 a.m., a student reported to a Seminole County Sheriff's Office school resource deputy that they had seen a person with what looked like a gun in the pocket of a hoodie, according to ClickOrlando. The campus was immediately locked down while deputies and Lake Mary and Sanford police searched. FOX 35 Orlando reported the subject was located and found not to be armed, and WFTV reported the lockdown was lifted at 12:53 p.m. after nearly two hours.
Analysis

Key Findings

A single student's visual report of an apparent gun in a hoodie pocket locked down a state-college campus for nearly two hours
A campus-based sheriff's school resource deputy received the report and triggered the lockdown
No weapon was found; the incident resolved as unfounded, and the verbatim alert is reconstructed from local-news coverage
Outcome
Seminole County deputies and Lake Mary and Sanford police searched the campus and located the subject, who was not armed. The lockdown was lifted at 12:53 p.m. with no threat found.
Provenance

Sources

  1. News
    Lockdown lifted at Seminole State College Sanford/Lake Mary campus - FOX 35 Orlando
    fox35orlando.com
  2. News
    Lockdown lifted at Seminole State College Sanford/Lake Mary campus after report of suspicious person - WFTV
    wftv.com
  3. News
    Police activity prompts lockdown at Seminole State College Sanford/Lake Mary campus - ClickOrlando
    clickorlando.com
  4. Official
    Seminole State Alert - Seminole State College of Florida
    seminolestate.edu
Tags
lockdownemergency-notificationfloridacommunity-collegeunfoundedweapon-reportUnfounded
Added May 2026Updated June 2026Via ingestion