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A Martinsville man has been formally charged in federal court for allegedly calling in a false threat at UVA-Wise last week.
20-year-old Bryant Hairston was charged Monday in a federal criminal complaint.
He is accused of calling 9-1-1 on January 23 and reporting that he saw a masked man on campus with a gun.
The report led to a lockdown of UVA-Wise.
The complaint states that Hairston admitted to lying about the report.
In court documents, police say he said numerous times, "Is this gonna be on the news?" and "I saved a lot of lives tonight."
He confessed he created the hoax to make it seem like he was a hero and he wanted to do that because he's accused of beating another student on campus and wanted to show everyone he is a good person.
He's still in jail.
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Original story from January 24
WISE, Va. (AP) -- A University of Virginia-Wise student faces charges of falsely reporting a gunman on campus.
The university's police department said Thursday that Bryant Alexander Hairston of Martinsville is charged with falsely summoning law enforcement officials.
Campus police say the sophomore psychology major won't be allowed on campus pending review of the charges.
Hairston is accused of calling 911 shortly before 9 p.m. Wednesday and reporting that he had seen a gunman on campus. The call prompted university officials to place the school on lockdown.
Virginia State Police spokeswoman Corinne Geller said police officers from several departments flooded the campus and began a building-by-building search.
Geller said the student confessed while being interviewed by state police agents.
There was no telephone listing for Hairston in Wise and Martinsville.
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The lockdown on the campus of UVA Wise has been lifted.
According to state police, a student called 911 shortly before 9 p.m. saying she had seen a man on campus with a gun.
Several police departments responded immediately and started a building-by-building search.
The student who made the 911 call was interviewed by police, and she admitted it was a hoax.
Law enforcement officers are clearing from the campus and the lockdown has been lifted.
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The campus of UVA Wise in far southwest Virginia is currently on lockdown.
Wise County is a little less than 200 miles southwest of Roanoke.
School officials have confirmed the campus is on lockdown, but that's all we have confirmed from the school right now.
We do know, from CBS affiliate WJHL in Tri-Cities, that Virginia State Police troopers have been called to assist the Wise County Sheriff's Office with the situation.
We are hearing from parents of children who attend UVA Wise, that their kids are being told to stay inside.
We'll keep following this developing story for you. Check back to WDBJ7.com for updates.