UNIVERSITY SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT

UPDATE: The individual responsible for the threat detailed below has been apprehended. See our News section for details on the investigation and following arrest.

The following is an official announcement published by the university. All individuals within the FSU community our encouraged to read the announcement in its entirety. The Bottom Line wishes to remind everyone to always be cautious of their surroundings and report suspicious behavior to the proper authorities immediately.

University Police were recently alerted to a posting on the anonymous, location-based message app known as Yik Yak. It stated: “At 5:30 tomorrow, I’m going to start shooting.” Based on the timing of the post we believe that “tomorrow” refers to today, Wednesday, April 30.

No other information on this post is currently available. University Police have notified cooperating investigative agencies and are attempting to track down the source of the post.

At this point, we have no additional evidence of a threat, but out of an abundance of caution we are sharing this information with the campus community.

We urge anyone who may have information on this subject to contact University Police at 301-687-4223 or you may also call the anonymous tip line at 301-687-7867 (STOP).

In the meantime, we urge you to be cautious. Please take care to be aware of your surroundings. IF YOU SEE ANYTHING SUSPICIOUS DO NOT HESITATE to call 911 or 301-687-4222, the University Police emergency line.

 

 

Message from President Gibralter:

I want to issue a clarification in response to questions from parents, students and others regarding the message about the anonymous, vague threat about which police have learned. Police must evaluate the credibility of threats on a regular basis. Our police agency and those agencies working in cooperation with us give this particular threat little credibility. This is for a variety of reasons, including that it was not declared to be specific to FSU. However, we decided that it was still important for the campus community to be aware and forewarned.

For those of you not familiar with this app, this article explains some of its features and what makes it unusual and troublesome. http://www.chicagonow.com/tween-us/2014/03/yik-yak-app-parents-need-to-know/

This story details some of the issues Yik Yak posts have created elsewhere: http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2014/03/11/seen-at-11-yik-yak-anonymous-texting-app-stirs-up-controversy/

In consultation with the Provost and SGA president, we offer the following message: While we do not want to allow our campus to be held hostage to anonymous, vague threats, if you feel your personal safety is at risk, you are encouraged to exercise your personal judgment about whether or not to stay on campus for the remainder of the day.

Jonathan Gibralter, President Frostburg State University