911 caller mistakes umbrella in man’s backpack for rifle near Miami Dade College

Kendall campus was locked down until police located man on bike

KENDALL, Fla. – The Kendall campus of Miami Dade College was placed on lock down Wednesday morning after someone called 911 to report that there was an armed person on campus riding a bicycle.

But authorities say the 911 caller mistook an umbrella in the man’s backpack for a rifle.

Still, authorities and school officials both say they’re thankful it was called in.

Sky 10 was over the scene at 11011 SW 104th St.

The call came in Wednesday morning as the man was riding his bike near the campus.

Miami-Dade police responded in force to the area. There were armed officers all over the campus and the surrounding streets.

They quickly found the man who the caller spotted, detained him and then took a look inside his backpack.

Authorities say he was carrying a military-style backpack with a black umbrella handle sticking out of the side of it.

While everyone involved was relieved it was just a misunderstanding, they were also pleased to see their planning pay off.

“This is a new day. These situations have to be taken seriously,” Miami Dade College’s Director of Communications Juan Mendieta said. “Anybody who has a responsibility of protecting children and students has to take this seriously.”

“I don’t want to call it a drill because this was actually a rapid response,” he added. “There were armed officials who went throughout the campus and swept all the areas, so this was not a drill. But it was a good exercise with a good outcome that makes us feel confident about the upcoming school year.”

Classes start at the college on Monday, so they said the lack of people on campus definitely helped the situation and everyone was able to shelter in place quickly.

The man who was detained is not connected to the college in any way. He was released and everything is back up and running as normal.


About the Authors:

Amanda Batchelor is the Digital Executive Producer for Local10.com.