Harvard University issued a shelter-in-place order on Tuesday morning after reports of a person armed with a knife or machete on its Cambridge, Massachusetts campus. The individual was reportedly involved in an aggravated assault and battery, prompting a multi-agency search and raising immediate safety concerns just as students were arriving for the start of the new academic year.

Harvard University Police, Cambridge Police and Massachusetts State Troopers were all searching for the suspect, focusing on the area around 124 Mount Auburn Street. The university used its MessageMe emergency alert system to warn students to shelter in place, with many already on campus ahead of the fall term beginning the following day. At the time of reporting, the assailant remained unidentified and the story was still developing.