A series of bomb threats involving several buildings at Yale University was called in on Friday forcing students around campus to be evacuated before the “all-clear” was announced nearly five hours later, authorities said.
A caller to New Haven police’s non-emergency line indicated there were bombs in nine buildings on the campus in New Haven, Connecticut, at around 2 p.m., police and school officials said.
“We’re treating this as if it is a legitimate threat, however at this time we are still working on who the caller was,” acting New Haven Police Chief Renee Dominguez told reporters.
University police “advised that an all clear was given” at 6:52 p.m, Yale’s Emergency Management Services said, adding that “campus is back to normal operations.”
The threat had targeted buildings in the Old Campus area, including Bingham Hall, Branford College, Grace Hopper College, police said. Bass Library also was evacuated as a precaution.
The students and faculty in those buildings were brought to the New Haven Green, before being directed to various indoor locations.
A campus alert went out at 2:35 p.m., asking students to avoid those areas, college newspaper the Yale Daily News reported.
Student Chacon told the paper that she was awoken by police entering her dormitory while she napped, having slept through the alert on her phone.
“It was definitely a frightening way to be woken up but I appreciated the alert,”she said.
A second alert went out to students at 4:56 p.m. announcing that the school’s Schwarzman and Lanman Centers were open for those who had been displaced by the evacuations, according to Yale Emergency Management.
Police also urged people to avoid downtown New Haven. No reason was given by the caller for the threat, authorities said.
“This area you can anticipate we will be shut down for several hours just in order to make sure that we are safe,” Dominquez said.
No reason was given by the caller for the threat, authorities said. Yale and New Haven police are investigating with help from state authorities and the FBI.
“We take these threats very, very seriously,” New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker said at a press conference. “Clearly we are looking to track down the individual who made this call.”
