Police Investigate Hoax Report at MIT

Cambridge and MIT police are trying to determine who was behind an electronic message about a possible gunman on the MIT campus that turned out to be a hoax.

Police say they’ll seek criminal charges if they identify a suspect. State and local police searched Saturday morning for a man reported to be carrying a long rifle and wearing body armor but found nothing. A spokeswoman says the university then called off a campus-wide lockdown.

Also under investigation is why students weren’t notified about the possible threat until more than one hour after Cambridge police reported it to MIT.