Student Gunman Arrested At St. John’s.

NEW YORK — A St. John’s University student with a suspected history of mental problems was arrested on the Queens campus with a rifle and a Halloween style mask, possibly of President Bush, police said Wednesday.

Nobody was hurt but the campus went into lockdown in mid afternoon as students furiously sent text messages to each other and their parents about the gunman, law enforcement sources said.

Campus security moved in and quickly disarmed the student, Omesh Hiraman, 22, who had been carrying the weapon in a bag, according to a posting on the St. John’s University website. Sources say the weapon appeared to a single shot, old style rifle. One law enforcement official said it looked a musket. Another said while the weapon appeared old, it was capable of firing a .50 caliber round.

And they’re already warming up the “mental problems” excuse.

Police were searching the student’s dormitory and investigating whether he might have stopped taking his medications, according to a law enforcement source. It’s believed the student, who is of Guyanese descent, was acting alone, despite early reports of a possible accomplice, sources said.