HBCUs receive bomb threats for second time in a month
Albany State, Bethune-Cookman, Bowie State, Delaware State, Howard and Southern universities all reportedly received Monday morning bomb threats.
Police and security personnel at some of the nation’s top HBCUs are investigating a series of Monday morning bomb threats, according to multiple sources.
Albany State University, Bethune-Cookman University, Bowie State University, Delaware State University, Howard University, Southern University and A&M College all received bomb threats on Monday, according to CNN.
FBI officials told theGrio on Monday that they are aware of bomb threats being made around the country.
“We are working with our law enforcement partners to address any potential threats,” the bureau told theGrio via email on Monday. “As always, we would like to remind members of the public that if they observe anything suspicious to report it to law enforcement immediately.”
Washington D.C. Metropolitan Police Department officers responded to a call about a threat at Howard University around 4:22 a.m., according to a department spokesperson.
The threat involved an area around the Mordecai Wyatt Johnson Administration Building on campus, according to a safety alert email shared on Twitter Monday morning.
“We did respond and we cleared it. We found no hazardous materials,” MPD public information officer Makhetha Watson told theGrio.
The five other schools named are still investigating threats, according to CNN.
Officials at Albany State confirmed their school was notified of a threat to its academic buildings Monday morning before sending out a campus emergency notification.
Law enforcement in Albany is investigating the incident. Administrators closed all ASU campuses until further notice, a university spokesperson told theGrio.
“Employees and students should not report to the campus until further notice,” the spokesperson said. “Once the investigation is complete the campus community will be notified.”
Bowie State University near Baltimore temporarily closed its campus and transitioned to virtual classes Monday morning while emergency personnel investigated a threat made at the school, according to campus emergency alert shared on Twitter.
“All persons on campus are advised to shelter in place until more information is available,” the school tweeted.
This is the second time this month several HBCUs have received bomb threats.
Howard, the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, Florida Memorial University, Norfolk State University, North Carolina Central University, Prairie View A&M University in Texas, and Xavier University in Louisiana all received threats about explosives on Jan. 5, as previously reported by theGrio.
No explosions were reported after the incident.
On Jan. 11, administrators at Charles R. Drew University medical school in Willowbrook, Calif. shut down their campus after someone claiming to be a “white, male, neo-Nazi fascist” emailed a threat to the school.
The perpetrator said he or she had “planted three titanium nitrite sulfuric bombs around the eastern and northern parts of campus,” per the Los Angeles Times.
“I want to show the Black population what the white man can do, we will take back our land!” the threat said.
This is a developing breaking news story. We’ll post updates as soon as more information is available.
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