Gunman Scare at Fairfield Ludlowe High School

A misunderstanding led emergency responders to lock down dozens of students and parents at Fairfield Ludlowe High School for more than 30 minutes on Saturday morning following threats of a roving gunman in town, police said.

A man carrying a rifle to a downtown shopping area where he believed his weapon could be serviced was rumored to be wandering toward Ludlowe, where girls from New Canaan and Fairfield's field hockey teams were scheduled to play scrimmage games and a girls' car wash was going on, Fairfield police Lt. Keith Broderick told Patch.

"It sounds like a big deal but it turned out to be nothing," Broderick said.

A call describing the rifle-toting man — described as older with gray hair — was first made at 10:55 a.m. on Sept. 11, when he was seen on Sanford Street near Archie Moore's, an area where Gunsmithing Limited once stood. The gun shop is now located in Southport. A second call placed the man on Unquowa Road, Broderick said.

Unquowa Road stretches from downtown to Ludlowe and beyond, though there's nearly one mile in between the area of Archie Moore's and the school. A third call, made by an individual who had heard about what was happening downtown, mistakenly placed the man near the high school, Broderick said.

"So we thought this was fluid moving, and we responded accordingly," he said.

Police contacted the owner of Gunsmithing Limited and confirmed that a man fitting the rifle-carrier's description had come into the shop. Meanwhile, student and spectators at Ludlowe reportedly were locked down inside the school. They were released when the matter had been cleared up, Broderick said.