Police searched the University of Richmond area last night but were unable to capture a suspected armed man spotted in the afternoon at Boatwright Library.

The university plans to reopen this morning, lifting a lockdown imposed yesterday afternoon, but is asking students, faculty and staff to be vigilant. Extra police patrols were expected overnight and today.

"Police feel the suspect has left the campus and the area," university spokesman Brian Eckert said.

Officers from the university, the city of Richmond and Henrico County scaled back their searching about 7:30 p.m., satisfied that the suspect was not in the area.

After first checking Boatwright, where the man, thought to be in his early 20s, was reported seen between 2:30 and 2:45 p.m., police using scent dogs inspected other buildings on the locked-down, 300-acre campus and the neighborhood, Richmond Police Chief Rodney Monroe said.

Monroe said officers were checking homeless encampments and that they may be able to identify a suspect from a surveillance photo taken by a library security camera. The person in the surveillance photo matches the description given by employees who saw him, UR officials said.

No shots were reported fired.

Eckert said the suspect -- apparently wearing a fake beard -- came to the library's circulation desk. Library employees did not allow the man to enter when they saw him as someone who likely was not a student.

Eckert said the person left, apparently without incident, through the front entrance and walked across a patio where other school employees saw him removing the beard and brown jacket and stuffing them into an Army-style duffel bag.

One of the employees thought he saw a handgun.

About 4:30 p.m., a fake beard was found by university police on a lawn near the library. They gave that to the scent dogs.

"We've had two different reports from witnesses who said he had a firearm," said Linda Evans, another UR spokesperson.

The person was described as a white male, 5 feet 11 inches tall, with short blond hair, a dark blue T-shirt and brown jacket with "sheriff" on the back.

An initial UR alert went out by e-mail, voice mail and text message about 3:45 p.m., Evans said, reporting that a dangerous person had been seen on campus and to use caution. It was followed by a second alert at approximately 4:15 p.m. that said a person had been seen with a gun, that the campus had been locked down and that urged everyone to secure themselves, Evans said.

As late as 4:45 p.m., the entrances to the campus did not have a heavy police presence, and some students were seen walking around. But police went from building to building to find people and escort them to their cars so they could leave campus.

With exams concluded last week, most undergraduate students have left the university. Law students still were on campus studying for final exams. Officials could not say how many students were on campus.

Asked what lessons UR had learned from the shootings last year at Virginia Tech, Eckert, the university spokesman, said, "What all campuses have learned: There is no one method of communication in these circumstances like this to reach everybody.

"Campuses are big, diverse, open places, and there is no one method that is 100 percent. We have tried to set up every means of communication for emergencies to reach as many people as possible."

Eckert said UR has 45 percent of the students signed up to receive UR's alert system.

"We've looked into the possibility of a campus public address -- we have a tornado warning. The problem with sirens is that they can't tell what the problem is."

The gunman's sighting at UR also had an effect on two nearby private schools in the city's West End.

St. Christopher's School stopped all of its after-school games, practices and other activities and brought the students and adults into buildings as a precaution, spokeswoman Susan Mistr said.

At St. Catherine's, precautions were also taken. "We're just going to stay tight until we hear something," said Laura Erickson, head of school.
Contact Bill McKelway at (804) 649-6601 or bmckelway@timesdispatch.com.

Contact Linda Dunham at (804) 775-8126 or ldunham@timesdispatch.com.

Staff writer Will Jones contributed to this report.