A threat called in to the University of Northern Iowa police Tuesday resulted in the activation of the UNI Alert system and the lockdown of the campus.

The suspect, who allegedly threatened his girlfriend with a gun, was apprehended and taken into custody.

Vicki Grimes, news and information coordinator for UNI, said university officials confirmed the “credible threat” with the female student, who had received several threatening text messages. The UNI Alert system was activated at approximately 6 p.m.

Immediately after the alert system was activated, individuals were told to stay away from the residence hall where the threat was called in from, Dancer Hall, and the surrounding area. All residence halls on campus were locked while police conduced a room-to-room search of Dancer Hall, which houses approximately 500 UNI students.

The UNI police, the Cedar Falls Police Department and the Iowa State Patrol responded to the threat on campus and maintained campus security.

Grimes said e-mails, text messages and phone calls to cell phones and residence hall phones were issued to inform the UNI community about the violent threat.

The incident marked the first time UNI’s security alert system was used. Its first on-campus testing was conducted on Feb. 27.