(KLFY / WGNO)— Six Louisiana colleges and one Texas college faced evacuations on Wednesday after bomb threats were called in, though all cases have ended so far with officials finding no evidence of explosives.
The following institutions were targeted by threats:
- University of Lousiana-Lafayette in Lafayette (UL)
- Nunez Community College in Chalmette
- SOWELA Technial Community College in Lake Charles
- Remington College in Shreveport
- South Louisiana Community College’s (SLCC) Young Memorial Campus in Morgan City
- Central Louisiana Technical Community College (CLTCC) in Alexandria
- Lamar University in Beaumont, Tx., according to KBMT.
Most of the schools faced their bomb threats at around the same time, about 10:45 Wednesday morning, based on texts, social media, and email alerts sent by each institution. It remains unclear if the three simultaneous bomb threats were related, though officials in each case said they are working to determine where the threats originated.
According to Louisiana law, any person found guilty of calling in a bomb threat to a school or firearm-free zone faces up to 20 years in prison with hard labor.
UL-Lafayette
UL sent out an emergency notification to students at around 11:35 a.m. Wednesday morning. The bomb threat call originated via 911. UL officials told KLFY that only around 50 people were actually evacuated from campus due to lower occupancy from summer sessions. At UL, the caller specifically targeted Martin Hall and F.G. Mouton Hall before later adding B.I. Moody Hall, as well. UL gave an all-clear at around 3 p.m.
Nunez Community College
In Chalmette, St. Bernard Parish Sheriff James Pohlmann said officials received the bomb threat at around 10:45 a.m. Wednesday morning. Ultimately, by around 1:30 p.m., Pohlmann said nothing suspicious had been found on the Nunez campus, but the investigation is ongoing to determine where the threat came from.
SOWELA
Louisiana State Police confirmed that SOWELA was also hit with a bomb threat, though again, no explosives were found, according to Tpr. Derek Senegal. KPLC reported the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office had K-9 officers sweeping the facility. An all-clear has been given.
Remington College
Shortly before noon today, a suspicious backpack was found on the Remington College campus. According to KSLA, it appeared to have some sort of timing device inside. While the building was evacuated, an all-clear was given at around 12:30 p.m.
SLCC Morgan City Campus
SLCC officials first released information on their bomb threat via Twitter at around 11:30 a.m. An all-clear was given by campus officials at around 1:45 p.m. No further information has been released.
Lamar University
KBMT reported at around 2:30 p.m. that officials were evacuating that campus, as well, due to a bomb threat. This situation is still developing.
CLTCC
CLTCC officials announced their bomb threat via Twitter at around 12:55 p.m. this afternoon. An all-clear was given at around 1:50 p.m.