A number of buildings at Columbia University, Cornell University and Brown University were evacuated on Sunday after bomb threats were reported on their campuses, with the universities advising people stay away from the buildings until further notice.
Columbia University has since been given the all-clear after NYPD completed their investigation and deemed the threats not credible. Students can return to the evacuated buildings.
The NYPD determined that not only were the threats not credible, but they were pranks, specifically "Swatting," which is when fake threats are made to mobilize the police.
The NYPD has determined that the threats @Columbia today were a swatting incident. Police conducted a search of the locations and deemed the area safe. The investigation into the origins of those messages remains ongoing. https://t.co/KImPbu3OqP
— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) November 7, 2021
Brown University was also given the all-clear after Brown campus police and Providence Police cleared all the buildings in question.
Hours later, Cornell was also given the all-clear after it was determined that no credible threat was found after a search of the Ithaca campus.
According to the Columbia Daily Spectator, Carman Hall and Lerner Hall at Columbia University were evacuated after tweets were published by a user with the name Jia Nakamura which claimed that, with their partner, they had placed 40 improvised explosives in Butler Hall, Carman Hall, Lerner Hall and the bookstore, as well as explosives on the college walk.
Allegedly, these are the tweets that the evacuations are referring to pic.twitter.com/oxTxRNHr4I
— Columbia Daily Spectator (@ColumbiaSpec) November 7, 2021
The user also claimed that they were carrying AR-15 assault rifles and Glock 10 pistols and would fire at any law enforcement officers who arrived at the scene.
Columbia University announced that the New York Police Department (NYPD) is investigating and asked people to avoid the area.
Cornell University issued an alert on its Twitter account warning people to avoid the central campus and evacuate areas in or near the Law School, Goldwin Smith, Upson Hall and Kennedy Hall, after police received a call about bombs being placed in these buildings.
CornellALERT: EVACUATE AND AVOID THE LAW SCHOOL,GOLDWIN SMITH, UPSON HALL AND KENNEDY HALL PLEASE DO NOT CALL THE CORNELL POLICE UNLESS YOU HAVE AN EMERGENCY
— Cornell University (@Cornell) November 7, 2021
The university stated that additional information would be provided as it became available and that Ithaca Campus Law enforcement is at the scene investigating.
NY Governor Kathy Hochul tweeted on Sunday that her and her team were "monitoring the situation at Cornell and Columbia Universities and are ready to offer any support that may be needed. I urge everyone to follow guidance from university and local law enforcement."
#BREAKING: @BrownUniversity evacuating some campus buildings following a bomb threat. @NBC10 pic.twitter.com/oNZgVYY1i2
— Tyler Dumont (@TylerDumontNews) November 7, 2021
Shortly after the bomb threats were reported at Cornell and Columbia, Brown University evacuated all buildings on the Main Green due to a bomb threat on its campus, according to the Brown Daily Herald.
BREAKING: Following a bomb threat on campus, Brown has evacuated all buildings on the Main Green. This follows threats at Yale, Cornell and Columbia. Story to follow. pic.twitter.com/zlLjcITvEW
— Brown Daily Herald (@the_herald) November 7, 2021
Yale University reportedly received a bomb threat on Friday, but was given the all clear after about five hours, according to the Yale Daily News. In the Yale incident, the caller also claimed that 40 bombs were placed around the campus, similar to the threat issued at Columbia on Sunday.
It was not initially clear if the threats at the various campuses are connected. Threats were also called in at a number of other campuses around the country in recent days, including Ohio University and Miami University.