Morgan State University campus closed Tuesday following bomb threat

Morgan joins several other HBCUs receiving a bomb threat within the last four weeks.

Morgan+campus+receives+a+bomb+threat%2C+similar+to+those+received+at+other+HBCUs

CharNae Brown

Morgan campus receives a bomb threat, similar to those received at other HBCUs

Jordan D. Brown, Editor-in-chief

Morgan State’s campus temporarily closed on Tuesday after the university received a bomb threat, school officials announced.

After a campus-wide search for any potential harm, no suspicious items were found on campus.

The university lifted its shelter-in-place order and reopened the campus around 1:40 p.m. Access to campus buildings is still limited.

According to Morgan State University’s Twitter page, normal campus operations will resume tomorrow.

Following a bomb threat that forced officials to close the campus, President David Wilson released a statement updating the Morgan community.

Wilson wrote, “Fortunately, nothing has been discovered within any of our residential facilities. Rawlings Dining Hall and our Student Center are being searched now so that dining services can prepare meals once those facilities are cleared.”

“The sweep of all office and academic buildings will proceed after these initial searches have taken place, and we will issue an update to the campus community as soon as possible,” Wilson added.

On Tuesday, classes took place through virtual instructions and all individuals, including those living in campus housing, were advised to shelter in place until further notice, according to a campus-wide email sent to students, faculty and staff Tuesday morning by the Office of Public Relations and Communications.

Campus officials said the bomb threat will be evaluated while access to campus is blocked.

“Due to a bomb threat that was received, access to the campus will be closed as the University works with emergency personnel to assess the situation. Everyone on campus should shelter in place until further notice,” the office wrote.

The latest bomb threat is a continuation of recent attacks on historically black colleges and universities.

Morgan and 10 other HBCUs received bomb threats Tuesday morning including Coppin State UniversityEdward Waters University, Fort Valley State University, University of District Columbia, Howard University, Spelman College, Alcorn State University, Jackson State University, Mississippi Valley State University and Xavier University of Louisiana.

On Monday, at least six HBCUs, Howard and five other HBCUs including Bowie State University, Southern University, Bethune-Cookman University, Albany State University and Delaware State University received bomb threats to their campuses, resulting in lockdowns similar to the one Morgan enacted Tuesday.

A few more HBCUs received bomb threats earlier this month. On Jan. 5, up to eight universities shut down their campuses due to bomb threats. The list includes Spelman College, the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, Florida Memorial University, Howard University, Norfolk State University, North Carolina Central University, Prairie View A&M University, and Xavier University of Louisiana.

However, university officials said nothing was found on any of the campuses that were threatened.

This story will be updated.