Police shut down Kansas University’s Wescoe Hall briefly Wednesday morning after a man was seen entering the building carrying a rifle.

The man turned out to be a KU history instructor who had an antique Civil War-era rifle that he planned to show his class later in the day, authorities said.

The incident threw a scare into employees at Wescoe and the man received “a stern talking to,” KU officials said.

“Everybody should know better than to carry around a gun openly in this day and age,” said Dodie Coker, a secretary in the Philosophy Department.

A handful of employees said they were evacuated from the building, but university police said the building was not evacuated.

Around 10:30 a.m., students were kept out of the building and university and Lawrence police were stationed at the entrances. By 11 a.m., everyone was allowed back in the building.

The man, whom police did not identify, was reported walking across campus with the rifle and then entering Wescoe. Police caught up with him there in a basement office.

“He was given a stern talking to and a reminder of university policy,” Todd Cohen, a spokesman for KU, said. Cohen said the weapon was “unusable.”

Weapons are not allowed on campus unless permission is given by the provost, Cohen said.

KU Police Lt. Schuyler Bailey said “in this atmosphere” the man was not acting prudently.

Several university employees said that with the nation at war in Iraq and the rising incidences of violence in the workplace, people should know that carrying a weapon will be perceived as a threat.