Nov 16, 2015 12:31 PM EST By Russell Westerholm, UniversityHerald Reporter

Washington College has asked its students to shelter in place while police investigate a student who has gone missing and may pose a potential threat of violence.

The school issued its first alert at 7:30 a.m., stating: "the parents of sophomore Jacob Marberger that he had returned home and retrieved a firearm. The parents have not been able to reach him and do not know where he is or where is he is headed."

The school closed its campus and asked anyone not already on campus to stay away while law enforcement performed a sweep of the campus. A little more than an hour later, the school indicated the situation was unchanged.

Just before 9 a.m., Washington College disclosed that police considered Marberger a missing person and would be searching campus residence halls.

Per the release, Marberger is "a white male, 5'4", 130lbs, with brown curly hair. He was last seen driving a 1997 dark green Range Rover with Pennsylvania tag beginning with 'JWY.'"

Around 11 a.m., Washington College notified the campus community that the search still was not over and asked resident students to remain within the confines of their dorm buildings. Due to the ongoing nature of the investigation and the uncertainty of Marberger's motive for taking a gun from his parents' home, Washington College devised a plan to get food to students confined to their residence halls.

"There's no word on how long we'll be here... If we leave, we'll be arrested," Ryan Stevens, a resident assistant in Talbot Hall, told The Elm, Washington College's student-run newspaper. "People are just trying to stay as calm as possible. It's a tough situation."

The Elm reported the first shelter in place was issued at 5:30 a.m. due to "suspicious activity" that may have stemmed from anonymous threats on social media made overnight.

Nothing is known at this time about what Marberger planned to do with the firearm, but someone who knows him indicated this behavior is out of character.

"I just didn't expect it," Richie Torres, a sophomore, told The Elm. "He's not that type of person at all."

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