Pitt receives University record 12 bomb threats in one day

With the 12 bomb threats received on campus Monday, this semester’s total count rose to… With the 12 bomb threats received on campus Monday, this semester’s total count rose to 57.

Four dormitories — Amos Hall, Bruce Hall, Brackenridge Hall and Panther Hall — received the first set of bomb threats around 4 a.m. The buildings were evacuated and then reopened around 6:30 a.m.

The next threat came at 11:11 a.m. Pitt sent out an Emergency Notification System alert notifying the campus of a bomb threat at the University Club. The threat also forced an evacuation at neighboring Thackeray Hall about a half hour later.

“I wasn’t expecting it to happen here,” said Mallory Koch, a junior who works in the University Club. “And it wasn’t coupled with anything else. It’s such a random, small building.”

Before that threat was cleared, four more buildings received threats. A little before 1 p.m., Frick Fine Arts, McCormick Hall, Posvar Hall and David Lawrence Hall were evacuated because of threats.

At 2:20 p.m., three other campus buildings — Heinz Chapel, Panther Central and Victoria Hall — received threats.

The buildings were evacuated, and by 3:25 p.m. all were cleared of threats.

N. John Cooper, the dean of the Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts & Sciences, sent out an email Monday morning to all faculty outlining how best to accommodate students who want to go home for the semester and to address the lack of an attendance policy. He asked faculty for “flexibility.”

He also used the email as an opportunity to voice his feelings on the recent spree of bomb threats.

“Recent events constitute an attack on the University that is unprecedented within higher education. It is an attack on everything we stand for as teachers, academics and members of this community, and we need to work together and do our best to make this the best term yet at Pitt for as many of our students as we can,” the email said.

Stephen McVeigh, a sophomore majoring in architectural studies, sat outside Frick Fine Arts just before 1 p.m. He and his classmates were setting up for their Foundation Drawing class when an alarm sounded and they received instructions to evacuate.

McVeigh said that he has missed at least six classes due to the threats.

“I am not frustrated, but I am worried we are not going to finish this semester,” McVeigh said.

Unlike some students’ families who have kept them from continuing to attend classes on campus, McVeigh does not feel that there is any real danger to University affiliates.

“Do I think a building is actually going to blow up? No,” McVeigh said.

Special Agent William Crowley, Pittsburgh media coordinator for the FBI, declined comment, except to say that the FBI was cooperating with the University.

Pitt spokesperson John Fedele said that he did not know how Monday’s threats were received and said he had no further information on the threats outside of the ENS alerts.

Shawn Brooks, the associate dean of students and director of Residence Life, sent out an email to all residence hall students that detailed the extra hours during which the University Counseling Center will be available to students.

The Counseling Center can be reached at 412-648-7930.