CCSU Suspect Was A Student Wearing Halloween Costume, Father Calls Him ‘Stupid’

The CCSU suspect who forced the Connecticut campus to be put on lockdown for more than two hours may have just been a misguided student wearing a Halloween costume, police say.

On Monday the Central Connecticut State Campus was placed on emergency lockdown and students ordered to shelter in place in buildings after reports that a gunman was seen. Witnesses say they saw a man in dark clothing with a semi-automatic weapon and a sword.

The response to the CCSU suspect was immediate, witnesses said.

“I saw a guy with camouflage pants, knee pads a body armor vest, paint ball mask with tinted goggles, and he had a Katana strapped to his back,” CCSU junior Jordan Governale said. “Less than a minute after I saw him, as I was walking off campus, I saw seven or eight cop cars in the direction he was going in.”

The campus was quickly swarmed with law enforcement officers sweeping through buildings. They eventually found the man they believe is responsible, 21-year-old senior David Kyem.

But the father of the CCSU suspect said the incident is all a misunderstanding. Peter Kyem, a geography professor at CCSEU, said his son spent the weekend with a friend and went to a costume party the night before the incident. He added that his son doesn’t own a gun, and hasn’t even held a gun in his life.

“I think people saw him and mistook him for a gunman,” Peter Kyem said. “They are all plastic materials, the mask and everything…. It was a stupid thing he did.”

Police arrested CCSU suspect David Kyem and two other people after the three-hour manhunt. Kyem is charged with disturbing the peace.

The incident came after a spate of high-profile shooting incidents have put Americans on edge, especially on campuses. In the past few weeks alone there have been several shooting incidents, including one a few hours after the CCSU lockdown at a mall in New Jersey.

The CCSU suspect was released after posting $1,000 bond.