Clearwater campus of St. Petersburg College reopened after manhunt

CLEARWATER -- The Clearwater campus of St. Petersburg College was locked down for about half an hour today as police searched for a man who had threatened a student with a gun, officials said.

Clearwater police said they received a call about the incident at 2:27 p.m.

A man whom police identified as Sean Maness threatened his girlfriend with a gun, according to Clearwater police spokeswoman Elizabeth Daily-Watts. Authorities later recovered a BB gun in the girlfriend's car on the campus, which is at Drew Street and Old Coachman Road, just east of U.S. 19.

More than a dozen Clearwater police officers, some with high-powered weapons or shotguns, surrounded the school and closed entrances to the college. The campus was locked down about 3 p.m.

During the search, Maness called police from a building on campus to surrender, college spokeswoman Amelia Carey said.

About 3:10 p.m., police took Maness, a tall young man in sunglasses, into custody at the northwest corner of the campus. Asked by a Times reporter whether he had threatened anyone, Maness said, "Leave me alone."

The campus was reopened shortly before 3:30 p.m.

- Jonathan Abel and Mike Donila, Times staff writers