Student in GI Joe Costume Caused College Lockdown

Central Connecticut State University was on lockdown yesterday, with local and state law enforcement—including SWAT teams—taking over the campus following reports of an armed man. Turns out it was student David Kyem, who was still wearing his GI Joe-inspired Halloween costume, the Hartford Courant reports. He'd been at the University of Connecticut for the weekend and wasn't able to squeeze the whole costume—with its camouflage pants, mask, tactical vest, and plastic weapons—into his backpack for the trip home, he says.

Says a student and veteran who called 911: "These vests have a place to put your handgun. I could clearly see where the holster was and there was a handle coming out consistent with a semiautomatic handgun." When Kyem heard about the lockdown, "my first thought was, 'Oh gosh, what's going on?'" he says. "My friends started calling me and saying, 'Hey, Dave, I think somebody got your Halloween costume confused with a gunman.'" He was charged with breach of peace and released on $1,000 bail, the Courant notes. (More Halloween stories.)