People reported seeing a suspicious man wearing a surgical mask.

National Post reports.

No masked gunman at University of Toronto: Report to police was ‘third-hand information’

The University of Toronto shuttered its downtown campus and two hospitals went into lockdown Monday as police investigated reports of a masked man with a gun.

But after six hours of evacuations and tactical sweeps through campus buildings, police ended the investigation without finding a masked man or a gun.

Earlier Monday, Toronto Police Chief Mark Saunders said several people reported seeing a “suspicious” man dressed in black, with a “surgical” mask and a knapsack, on campus around 9 a.m. Half an hour later, a 911 said the masked man had a gun, before hanging up.

“We live in a different time right now,” Saunders told reporters on scene. “We ask … if someone sees something that is suspicious, to give us a call and to allow us to do what we need to do.”

The tip about a gun, however, turned out to be “third-hand information.”

“There was no confirmed sighting of a gun,” Sgt. Sean Cassidy said around 3 p.m. “They suspected that the person had a gun, but no one actually saw a gun on this person.”

Earlier Monday, police cordoned off Queen’s Park street, blocking all north and southbound traffic, and ordered TTC trains to bypass Museum Station, steps away from campus. Emergency task force officers evacuated students and staff from campus buildings and escorted them onto two idling TTC buses. Police recorded each person’s name before releasing them.