Tuesday evening, North Carolina Central University was one of approximately 8 Historically Black Colleges and Universities that received phone call messages about threats of a potential bomb on the respective campuses. Following the report of the bomb threat, notification alerts were sent to students, faculty and staff where they were then escorted to a safer area.
Although there were no reports of explosives actual bombs, NC Central University evacuated the small population of students who were present on campus as students weren't scheduled for an official move in until Wednesday, January 5th with classes starting next Monday, January 10th. While students awaited for the bomb squad to finish a sweep of the campus, they were taken to St Joseph AME Church. The students were permitted to return to campus following an all-clear around 9:15 pm, about four hours after the initial scare.
The Durham Police Department, Durham County Sheriff’s Office, Fire Department, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Durham City/County Emergency Management, North Carolina State University and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Police Departments worked in collaboration with NC Central University's police department to ensure that all safety measures were executed and the proper precautions were taken.
Texas Southern University, Prairie View A&M, Norfolk State, Xavier University, University of Arkansas Pine Bluff, Florida Memorial University and Howard University were other HBCUs included on the list of schools who received the threats as well.
