Federal authorities are investigating a series of bomb threats against more than a dozen Alabama colleges and universities earlier this week.
“We are aware of the threats and are working together with our state, local and federal partners. The FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force is leading the investigation,” the Justice Department said in a statement. statement to WBRC.
Thirteen institutions, including Auburn University and a University of Alabama campus, received some sort of bomb threat Wednesday, none of which proved credible.
“All college schools that received threats in Alabama on Wednesday, July 27 have been evacuated and classes have been deemed safe to resume,” according to the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency. “No other details are available at this time.”
ALEA added that its “State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) and the Alabama Fusion Center (AFC), in conjunction with local and federal partners, are currently monitoring the situation to ensure the safety of all students, faculty and members. Staff”.
The threats raised evacuations across the state, at schools such as Enterprise State, the University of South Alabama, and the University of Alabama’s Huntsville campus.
Universities in Tennessee were also the subject of numerous false bomb threats on Wednesday, and schools in Mississippi suffered a similar wave of threats the following day.
“While incidents of this nature are the subject of frequent training and drills by MSU’s Crisis Action Team, I am extremely grateful for the prompt and professional actions of MSU’s first responders today.” , Mississippi State University President Mark E Keenum said in a statement. “They work hard every day to keep our students, faculty, staff and visitors safe, and I’m proud of them.”
Public safety officials question whether the threats are related to a similar wave of 57 threats made against historically black churches and colleges and universities in January and February.
“There have been a lot of these bomb threats all over the country,” said Capt. Milton Houseman, commander of the Biloxi Police Department’s bomb squad. said in Jackson, Mississippi Clarion Ledger newspaper. “There are bogus calls coming out. There were at least nine in the state of Mississippi that I know of.”
The Independent Gt