One threat was directed at the School of Engineering and Applied Science
By: Katie Wagner
Princeton University’s Department of Public Safety is investigating two e-mailed bomb threats received by the university in the past week and deemed to be hoaxes, according to the Princeton University Office of Communications.
One threat was directed at the School of Engineering and Applied Science and the other was directed at the Lawrence Apartments housing complex. Both were anonymous, similar to e-mail threats being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation that were sent to other colleges and universities across the country over the past week, according to the university communications office.
A university employee checking a general information e-mail inbox accessed the first e-mailed threat at approximately 11:30 a.m. Aug. 27 and informed public safety. Officers conducted an immediate scan of the buildings along with department managers familiar with the buildings and no hazardous devices were found, according to the university.
State police and the FBI advised that the threat was not credible, and federal investigators informed the university that other institutions had received similar e-mail threats, which reinforced the doubted credibility of the threat.
The threat directed at Lawrence Apartments was accessed at approximately 7:50 p.m. Saturday by a university employee checking a different general Princeton e-mail address. He informed public safety, and campus police searched the housing complex with assistance from police agencies in the surrounding area, according to the university communications office.
"Our primary interest is to ensure that there is accurate information about the nature of threats that have affected members of our campus community, but we also recognize that these e-mail hoaxes are affecting other institutions across the country and that there is a shared interest in information about the threats we have received," said Cass Cliatt, university spokeswoman.