A student coming home from a hunting trip sparked an all-campus WiscAlert Saturday.

Police heard reports of a suspicious person carrying a shotgun near Bedford Street early Saturday morning, according to a Madison police report, prompting a series of WiscAlerts citing a white male in camouflage face paint.

However, according to the report, the white male, who was seen with black paint on his face, had been hunting outside the city and was walking home from his parked car.

Madison Police Department Lt. Dan Olivas said he did not know why the WiscAlerts sent out different information, as the police are not in charge of the alerts.

Police found the suspect near his residence on the 600 block of W. Mifflin Street and concluded that he had never pointed his weapon at anyone nor made any threats. Olivas said simply carrying a weapon in public is not illegal under Wisconsin’s 2011 open carry law.

“We were able to make contact with him and we figured out the circumstances and what had been going on,” Olivas said.

Olivas said it was a bit unusual for someone to be carrying a shotgun in the city early in the morning on a gameday, so he was not surprised the incident was called in, adding that it was an appropriate reaction to such a circumstance.

“I think with all of the public shooters and active shooter cases that have happened around the country, it is certainly prudent to call,” Olivas said.