UT Austin Evacuated After Bomb Threats, North Dakota State University Evacuations Follow; Al Qaeda Involved?

Bomb threats at two universities in the United States forced campus officials to evacuate thousands of students on Friday. Both campuses were later found to be safe and were reopened by the afternoon.

According to the Washington Post, the University of Texas at Austin received a call at around 8:35 a.m. from a man claiming to be with al Qaeda, who told the university he placed bombs around campus. UT at Austin spokeswoman Rhonda Weldon told reporters that the man claimed the bombs would go off 90 minutes after his call.

The university then issued a mass warning to all students, staff and faculty members to evacuate the campus. The warning, sent at 9:53 a.m. read, "Evacuation due to threats on campus. Immediately evacuate ALL buildings and get as far away as possible. More information to come."

The deadline for bomb explosions passed without incident, the Washington Post reported, and the university reopened its buildings at noon. An update from the university to students stated that only scheduled classes would continue and all other activities would resume at 5 p.m.

UT President William Powers told news reporters, "We are extremely confident that the campus is safe," after the campus was announced to be out of harm's way.

In another incident, North Dakota State University was also forced to evacuate its main and downtown campuses after the school received a threat. According to the Washington Post, FBI spokesman Kyle Loven said a call was received at 9:45 a.m. that included a "threat of an explosive device."

The campus was later deem safe and began reopening buildings at about 1 p.m.. A notice by NDSU to students read, "NDSU campus police have reopened campus as of 1 p.m. Classes and full operations will resume at 2 p.m. Over the next hour, university police will be unlocking buildings. As always, students, faculty and staff may choose not to return if travel is a concern."

According to the Washington Post, UT campus sirens wailed as students began receiving the alert. Students were directed off campus by university staff, the Post reported, in what as described as an "orderly but tense" manner.

The Washington Post also reported that Valparaiso University in Indiana raised security and issued a warning to students after a treat was discovered scrawled in graffiti. FBI and local authorities did not find anything suspicious and classes and activities continued as planned.