UTSA police blocked access to the Multidisciplinary Building, Monday at 3:45 p.m., when they responded to a report that someone in the building had concealed weapons in a duffle bag.

After arriving in three patrol cars, officers removed their AR15 rifles from their vehicles and entered the building. They quickly determined, however, that the reported weapons were decorative replicas used in drill practice.

“A student in Air Force ROTC failed to conceal them well enough where they wouldn’t have been seen,” said Lt. English.

English said that all UTSA officers are trained for these types of situation, and they are all capable of responding. During Monday’s incident, students in the area immediately began checking their telephones for information, but most remained a safe distance from the building while the police investigated. “Until we verify a situation we do not use the reverse 911 system,” he said. “If there was an alert to put out, we would have done that.”

English explained that similar incidents have occurred in the past; however, he was unsure if they involved the Air Force or Army ROTC. “Every semester there are new cadets in ROTC, so sometimes they don’t take the safeguards to conceal the weapons properly,” he said.

“This is not the first time this has happened with ROTC, so we’ll be getting with them.”