Reported gun on BYU-Idaho campus was a landscaping tool

Rexburg Police officers were called to the Brigham Young University-Idaho campus Monday morning for a reported gun sighting that turned out to be a man carrying a landscaping tool.

In a notice sent to students, the event started at about 9:18 a.m. when an employee reported seeing a man with what they thought might be a rifle to BYU-Idaho Security. BYU-Idaho security contacted the Rexburg Police and officers responded to the campus at about 9:30 a.m. Using video surveillance on the campus, officers were able to track down the person who was believed to be carrying the gun.

The officers found that the item in question was actually a metal and wood landscaping tool in a holster. The man was on his way to trim some trees. Officers believe that the employee who reported the sighting saw the wooden handle of the tool and thought it was the butt of a gun.

The letter states that there was never any threat to the campus or students and thanks the students for being vigilant in reporting suspicious or unusual activity.

Editor’s note: The original version of this article said that it was student who reported seeing the gun was it was actually a campus employee. The story has been updated to reflect this correction.