Threat Of Violence Puts Local Universities On Alert
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Universities in Philadelphia are notifying students and staff about a safety alert from the FBI and ATF.
The federal law enforcement agencies said a threat of violence has been made on social media against "a university near Philadelphia." The alert states that an action could take place at 2 p.m. Monday.
Law enforcement officials are asking the community to be aware of their surroundings and report any suspicious activity immediately.
The FBI has released the following statement:
"Out of an abundance of caution, the FBI Philadelphia Field Office notified local colleges and universities of a social media posting which threatened violence at a Philadelphia-area college or university for Monday, October 5.
No specific college or university was identified in the posting. We encourage students, faculty, and employees at area colleges and universities to follow the guidance of their campus security officials.
The FBI will continue to work with our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners to investigate threats of violence, and, as always, we ask the public to report suspicious activity to law enforcement."
"I don't think in this instance that it's a very specific threat," says retried FBI agent J.J. Klaver. "If there were a more specific threat, if there was more specific information, this wouldn't have gone out like it had."
Temple sent out the following tweet on Saturday:
Temple community: Please check your email for an important public safety message from @TU_Police.
— Temple University (@TempleUniv) October 4, 2015
Officials there are urging members of their community to report any concerns to Campus Safety Services at 215-204-1234.
Drexel also released a statement on Sunday regarding the threats that they say appeared on social media:
"The FBI has notified all Philadelphia area colleges and universities about a recent social media posting threatening violence at a Philadelphia area college or university on Monday, October 5. Since the shooting last week at a community college in Oregon, the FBI has seen similar social media postings throughout the country."
Drexel will increase police and security patrols on Monday. The University of Pennsylvania also issued a statement and will coordinate closely with Drexel.
St. Joe's, La Salle and Montgomery County Community College were among the other schools to alert students.
The FBI also alerted Rowan in New Jersey, who will increase patrols at all of its campuses too.
The alerts aren't meant to scare people, just make them alert.