Cal State Fullerton lockdown sparks Internet memes, jokes

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At Cal State Fullerton, as SWAT officers methodically searched portions of campus for a robbery suspect Wednesday night, antsy students on lockdown for eight hours were devising ways to amuse themselves.

Many took to Twitter and Instagram, posting humorous advice from concerned loved ones and creating Internet memes.

‘The advice my brother gives me while I’m on #lockdown #csuf,’ tweeted @nalleyx3. She posted a photo of his text message, which suggested, ‘Keep your eyes peeled and your pencils sharp in case you need to stick someone.’

One student, @AnoshehB, posted a picture of her classmates watching themselves on the TV news.

As the night wore on, many students became restless and hungry.

Many students and staff who remained in other buildings on campus, such as the library and dorms, began to walk off the campus, though they were not officially released.

“It’s just getting to the point where they’re hungry and they’re letting themselves out,” Fullerton Police Sgt. Jeff Stuart said. He said police did not have enough personnel to keep people inside the buildings.

The focus of the seven-hour search was on Steven G. Mihaylo Hall, a 200,000-square-foot building that is home to the school’s college of business and economics, where one of two suspects who remain on the loose was last spotted.

The fugitive and four others were involved in an armed robbery of a jewelry store in Moreno Valley earlier in the day. They shot an employee, then led police on a wild car chase that spanned four counties. After they stopped at Cal State Fullerton two of the men were captured. Two others fled on foot, one reportedly into Mihaylo Hall. The fifth was caught in Watts shortly after.

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-- Kimi Yoshino and Nicole Santa Cruz