ACC police arrest person after intruding meeting with ski mask, making 'threatening' remarks

Austin Community College police arrested an individual after they crashed a meeting at the school's Highland Campus on Wednesday night wearing a ski mask and making 'threatening' remarks to students and employees, Chancellor Russell Lowery-Hart told the campus in an email Thursday.

"At about 9 p.m. last night, students and employees reported someone wearing a ski mask walked into a room where they were meeting and made remarks that felt threatening," Lowery-Hart said. "While investigators now believe it was a prank ― we want to assure you that we are taking this extremely seriously."

ACC, which did not identify the individual who was arrested for criminal trespassing, said they were not a student.

The individual is a "known person" who had previously been issued a trespassing warning on campus, an ACC spokesperson told the American-Statesman on Thursday.

On Wednesday night, ACC police responded to the incident and questioned the individual, who Lowery-Hart said was found to have violated a trespass order.

"When I heard about what happened, my heart felt heavy," Lowery-Hart said. "No one should face a situation like this ― especially when they're on our campuses."

Each ACC campus has a police station and surveillance cameras. An emergency alert was not issued to students because the situation was resolved quickly and there was no ongoing threat, Lowery-Hart said in the email.

Students and faculty will have access to mental health counseling and support, Lowery-Hart said, adding that safety at ACC campuses is a priority.

Police are investigating the incident to determine if more charges might be filed, ACC said in a media advisory.

"Threats of any nature will not be tolerated," Lowery-Hart said.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: ACC police arrest person for criminal trespass, investigating 'prank'