UCLA residence halls evacuated due to bomb threat
WESTWOOD, Calif. -- Thousands of students were evacuated Wednesday night from UCLA residence halls after a bomb threat was phoned in to the school's recreation center, reports CBS Los Angeles.
Students were sent to Drake Stadium on campus after the university's emergency plan was activated, UCLA media relations reported.
A UCLA spokesman told the Los Angeles Times more than a dozen residence halls and the recreation center were cleared out, and students elsewhere on campus were told to stay indoors.
The all-clear was given shortly after midnight local time, some two hours after the initial alert went out:
All clear at UCLA. Residents are returning to all residence halls. Thank you for your patience. https://t.co/uUPUb9UgWd
— UCLA Newsroom (@UCLAnewsroom) July 13, 2017
There was no immediate word on the possible source of the threat.
The school newspaper, the Daily Bruin, tweeted earlier developments:
Students are being evacuated to Drake Stadium after reports of a bomb threat on the Hill. https://t.co/NL5tVePDKu pic.twitter.com/4AtbNydvDg
— Daily Bruin (@dailybruin) July 13, 2017
Officers took the threat seriously and quickly combed the campus for evidence of a bomb the called referred to. Campus police asked for assistance from the local police bomb squad.
Cole Holden, a high school student visiting UCLA for the Vice Provost Initiative for Pre-College Scholars program, led dances in Drake Stadium, the Daily Bruin says. "We're just trying to keep the spirit up, have fun, because a lot of people here seem really stressed," Holden said.
Classes at UCLA are in summer session.
No one was reported injured, and authorities said evacuation plans went smoothly.
It was unclear late Wednesday when students would be allowed to return to their dorm rooms.