Fayetteville State University was forced to suspend classes and shelter in place after receiving a bomb threat on Wednesday, WCNT 9 reports.
Currently, the FBI, North Carolina State Highway Patrol, and several other agencies are investigating the “senseless” bomb threat.
Not only were classes canceled causing on-campus students to shelter in place but commuter students also evacuated campus. In addition, the school’s basketball game that was scheduled on Wednesday was relocated, as well, according to a news release.
Following the incident, all but one entrance to the campus was closed while authorities were “conducting sweeps of buildings to find devices that may be in suspicious packages or hidden in trash cans, foliage, and other obscure areas.”
“I am deeply disturbed by the recent reports of senseless bomb threats directed at HBCUs across our nation and particularly at Fayetteville State University today,” Chancellor Darrell T. Allison said. “Considering this threat, we acted quickly to ensure the health and safety of our university community. This university remains committed to our mission and vision of educating bright leaders all while making safety our first priority.”
As EBONY previously reported, numerous HBCU campuses were the targets of bomb threats. Six juveniles were identified as “persons of interest” for allegedly making threats to the schools.
A law enforcement official said the FBI has identified the six “tech-savvy” persons of interest around the country, who deployed sophisticated tactics in disguising themselves as the source of the threats. The threats appeared to be racially motivated.
In regards to the threat, the FBI released a statement.
“The FBI is aware of bomb threats made to Fayetteville State University and Winston-Salem State University today. We have provided assistance to both institutions,” the statement read. “It is too soon to say if these threats are connected to other recent HBCU bomb threats.”
“The FBI takes all threats seriously and we are committed to thoroughly and aggressively investigating,” the statement continued. “We would like to remind the public, if they observe anything suspicious or have information about potential threats to notify local law enforcement immediately, call 1-800-CALL FBI or submit a tip to tips.fbi.gov.”
