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Cal State Fullerton may be on lockdown for hours

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Students and faculty locked down at Cal State Fullerton may be in for a long night as police continue to search for a suspect involved in an armed robbery and car chase, police said.

The man is one of five suspects who led police on a high-speed chase across four counties Wednesday after robbing a jewelry store in Moreno Valley. Shots were fired during the incident, but it is not clear if anyone was fatally injured, said Officer Steve Carapia of the California Highway Patrol’s Riverside office.

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During the chase, the suspects stopped at the university about 3:47 p.m. and ran. Of three that fled south on campus, one was captured, one stole a car and was later arrested in Watts and one is still on the loose. Of the two who ran north, one was taken into custody and the second is still at large, perhaps hiding in the school, said Sgt. Jeff Stuart with the Fullerton Police Department.

SWAT officers were also on the campus.

“This may be an all-night affair,” Stuart said. “The safety of the staff and students are our primary concerns at this point. “

Officials are treating the search as if the suspect is armed and dangerous, he said.

Laura Evangelista, 21, a third-year communications major, was in a room in University Hall with 35 other students and sent a text message to a reporter from The Times

‘We’ve barricaded the doors. We’re using the projection screens to look up Twitter feeds and news sites for updates. Staying quiet, turned down the lights a little. One faculty member tried to come into the door, which I thought was stupid.’

Asked if she was scared, Evangelista responded:

‘A bit, yeah. Not like mass panic, but this hasn’t ever happened in the time that I’ve been here. It’s a scary situation especially knowing they are armed. When that faculty tried to come in the door, it was so silent .... And that’s when you could tell everyone is kind of scared. It’s confusing also.’

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