Bomb Threat at General Lectures Building

General Lectures will remain closed today, December 5, after WSU police received a bomb threat on the building this morning.

Both Michigan State Police and the WSUPD were dispatched to the scene after the call was reported, said WSUPD’s Chief Anthony Holt.

They immediately evacuated the building and performed a thorough sweep of the premises, said Holt. After accessing the situation, Holt decided to issue an emergency alert to others on campus.

“Students who are signed up to receive alerts should have received emails and text messages about the closure of the building,” he said.

“Classes in General Lectures have been moved to other buildings, as stated on the [WSU] Web site.”

The bomb threat is WSU’s second this week. The first occurred on Monday, December 1, at the Student Center Building when someone called WSUPD about a suspicious note left at in the building.

Students did not receive emails about the threat, but instead were told there was a “building issue” which would keep the Student Center closed all day.

According to Holt, students were not informed of the bomb threat because the situation was not determined to be a “critical safety issue.”

“Our number one priority in situations like an active shooter or a bomb threat is the safety of everybody at the scene. Only after the area is evacuated does the crisis team look at the overall threat to the university,” he said.

The university gets the most bomb threats, said Holt, during midterms and finals weeks.

Holt stressed that calling in a false bomb threat is a felony that is punishable to the furthest extent.

“This is a federal offense, a terrorist act,” he said. “We are going to take the evidence in hand and do our best to find where it originated from.”

Wayne State has been experiencing an increase in crime and the number of bomb threats within the past month. Lt.

Dave Scott of WSU’s crime prevention department said he doesn’t believe the situation on campus is unique.

“Based on what I’ve heard from experts, crime trends tend to follow economic and sociological depressions,” he said.

“I think you would find that crime is up all over the board.”