BOSTON (AP) -- Authorities say a report of a gunman on the Massachusetts Institute of Technology campus was a hoax and there is no threat to public safety.

Cambridge police said Saturday that officers searched for a man reported to be carrying a long rifle and wearing body armor but found nothing. A spokeswoman says the university called off a campus-wide lockdown.

State police spokesman David Procopio says the report of a gunman turned out to be a hoax.

Spokesman Dan Riviello says Cambridge police received the tip in an electronic chat message, but witnesses on the scene eventually contradicted it.

About 11,000 people attend the prestigious school outside Boston where students are famous for their smarts as well as their stunts, including once putting a police car on top of a domed campus building.