President John Pistole addressed students and faculty at the end of chapel on Thursday, Feb. 25, informing chapel attendees that the university had received a bomb threat “within the last hour.”
The threat was sent via email to three different RavenMail accounts, including the Student Government Association and Dean of Students Dr. Chris Confer. Pistole said that the FBI had been notified and was in the process of attempting to track the emails, which were sent from anonymous Guerrilla Mail email accounts. Additionally, AUPD and other local law enforcement, including a K-9 unit, were called to assist in a campus-wide sweep. According to Pistole, the threats were not considered credible.
An email sent by Confer reaffirmed that the threats were not considered credible. The contents of the threat were included in the email sent by Confer. The message read:
“Hello AU
There is a bomb on campus
Good Luck”
Classes were not cancelled as a result of the threat.
The Raven Alert System has been put into use to notify and update students and their family members of the threat. Students have been asked to remain vigilant and to report any suspicious activity or packages to AUPD at 1-765-641-3333. Calls from landlines on campus can use the extension x3333. Students were also instructed that, if they receive the above email, they should disregard. If any other threatening emails are received, students are asked to report them to ITS@anderson.edu.
Update: As of 3:57 p.m. on Feb. 25, the bomb threat has been lifted. According to the AU Twitter page, buildings have been searched and cleared.