FSU Police Confirm Suspicious Yik Yak Post Is Not a Threat

On February 5, at 11:57 AM, Frostburg State University issued a BURG Alert in regards to a threatening posting on Yik Yak. The anonymous posting read, “Debating on pulling the trigger mid class.”

“FSU Police have verified that the statement on Yik Yak was not a threat,” said an FSU spokesperson in an email to faculty, staff, and students.

An investigation into the threat of violence was conducted by FSU Police and C3I; if anyone has any information regarding this, please call 301-687-4222.

Chief Smith also provided The Bottom Line with this statement, “I am very grateful to the alertness and professionalism of the officers of the FSU Police Department and to C3I. I am also most grateful to the alert student who initially passed the information on the FSUPD.”

The posting which read “Debating on pulling the trigger mid class” was not intended as a threat, but most likely as a metaphor for vomiting.

FSU Police and C3I responded to the possible threat with an abundance of caution to ensure the safety of students, staff, and faculty members.

“The University is collaborating with C3I, the local investigating agency, to determine the source of the posting, which said, ‘Debating on pulling the trigger mid class.’ Regardless of whether this was a prank or not, C3I is taking this seriously. We will provide updates as they become available,” said an FSU spokesperson in an email to students.

“We do not want to allow our campus to be held hostage to anonymous, vague threats. Since this message mentioned ‘class,’ if you feel your personal safety is at risk and you choose not to attend class, you will not be penalized,” the email continued.

Yik Yak is a social media app that allows users to anonymously post in a proximity-based forum; users of the app can create and view postings with a 10 mile radius of their location.

A similar threat was made via Yik Yak on April 29, 2014 by a FSU student. The student, Marvin Chijioke Ogu, was arrested the following day and charged with Disrupting School Functions as a result of the investigation headed by Allegany County Combined Criminal Investigation Unit (C3I).