Luxury Tower Lockdown Ends Without Incident

An ​“emergency lockdown” at 360 State St. left the luxury downtown apartment tower’s residents stuck in their rooms — or outside of the building and unable to get back in for hours— as police searched for someone allegedly in danger of self-harm.

Police didn’t find anyone, and the lockdown was lifted.

That was the scene Wednesday night at the 32-story apartment complex, the state’s largest residential tower, at the corner of State and Chapel Streets downtown.

Here’s what happened, according to an email sent by the property’s management company to residents on Thursday morning:

City police responded to 360 State St. Wednesday night after getting a ​“tip call” that someone was ​“in danger of harming themselves.”

“An incomplete address” was given to the police in that tip call. Nevertheless, the police ​“needed to complete their due diligence.”

“The police assessed there was not a threat to the other residents of the building and were mainly concerned with the person who was in danger to themselves. This was the cause of the emergency lock down that occurred last night. The police completed their work and allowed us to lift our lock down. The person in question was not confirmed to be in our building.”

In a Thursday morning email, police spokesperson Scott Shumway confirmed that, at around 8:38 p.m. Wednesday, police received a 911 call about an ​“an emotionally disturbed person” at 360 State St. ​“After a lengthy investigation, responding officers could not locate the individual or confirm the incident at the reported address.”

While the incident ended peacefully enough, at the time of the lockdown, a dozen 360 State St. residents stood bewildered and concerned outside of the building’s State and Chapel entrance. They wondered aloud why they were not allowed back inside, and why their apartment building was flanked by two police cars, a fire truck, an ambulance, seven paramedics, and several police officers, some with long guns drawn and blocking the entrance to the garage.

Several residents told the Independent that they had received an email from the property management company at 9:18 p.m. That email, written partly in all-caps and including a picture of a red fire extinguisher at the top, told residents who were in the building to stay in their rooms and lock their doors. Roughly an hour later, residents told the Independent, they received an email from management saying that the situation had not yet been resolved.

One resident, Jeff Hassan, said he left his apartment soon after 9 p.m. to pick up an Amazon delivery from the building’s groundfloor lobby.

The elevator was locked, so he decided to walk 20 stories down.

The stairwell exit put him outside of the building in Pitkin Plaza. When he tried to go back in to retrieve his package, a police officer told him he had stay outside.

Leshawn Joyner rushed over from his apartment in Wooster Square at around 9:30 p.m. after getting a call from his mom, who was with his daughter and locked down in her apartment at 360 State.

Joyner said he was in the middle of a shower when he got his mom’s call. He jumped out, threw some clothes on, and ran over. His hair was still wet when he arrived.

“It’s very nerve-wracking because we don’t know what’s going on,” he said.

During the incident, Acting Police Chief Renee Dominguez confirmed for the Independent that police were actively investigating the premises after a third-party caller called with concerns about an ​“emotionally distressed individual.”