Crime

University of Pittsburgh Rocked by Dozens of Bomb Threats

PITTSBURGH (AP/The Blaze) — Dozens of bomb threats at the University of Pittsburgh, including at least four on Monday, have prompted professors to start holding classes outside and forced security officials to implement new building access measures and offer a $50,000 reward

The threats began in mid-February, at first targeting a landmark building at the center of campus. But in recent weeks numerous buildings have been threatened. Four threats had been made by mid-afternoon Monday, starting at about 4 a.m.

“It wasn’t really until probably a few days ago that this started to affect me, as far as my feelings of security,” said Dawn Diehl, who‘s studying for a master’s degree in library science. “So now it’s pretty alarming. We’ve never had an experience like this. I kind of have that feeling like, where’s this going to end?”

Diehl was surprised Monday to find all but one door to the main library locked and everyone’s bags being searched.

Under new security measures, students and faculty will need a school ID to get into buildings. Non-residents won’t be permitted in dormitories, and a $50,000 reward is being offered for information.

Brian Graham, a fifth-year chemistry student, said the threats began as being written on walls in buildings, and he hoped security would be able to catch the perpetrator. But then threats started arriving by email.

“I think it’s a little bit more nerve-racking,” Graham said of the latest wave. “I have to either stay later or come in different hours. I would be about to leave home, and then there’d be a bomb threat.”

The threats have caused some professors to move classes outdoors or offer them online and have led some students to stay off-campus. The university, located a few miles from downtown Pittsburgh, has about 3,800 full-time faculty members who serve 34,000 students.

The university is urging faculty to make arrangements for students to make up classes or exams missed because of evacuations, but it says there are no plans to end the semester early.

No bombs have been found and nobody has been injured, and police say the building evacuations will continue. There have been a total of about 25 threats targeting numerous buildings, with some of those threatened multiple times.

U.S. Attorney David Hickton in Pittsburgh issued a statement Friday commending Pitt’s response and confirming the threats “are being vigorously, aggressively and thoroughly investigated through every possible mean” by the region’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, which includes the campus police and FBI.

Comments (32)

  • FightingBear
    Posted on April 10, 2012 at 2:03pm

    Wher is La Raza crying about having to show ID to get into buildings on campus. This is an obvious attempt to keep illegals out.

    Where are the Dems saying this new policy is disenfranchizing minorities for whom it is too inconvenient to go get a student ID.

    Report Post »  
  • Mastermind
    Posted on April 10, 2012 at 1:19pm

    It’s probably some OWS jerk who is pissed off because they couldn’t get free tuition, free football tickets, and free basketball tickets. I wouldn’t be surprised if the person making these threats has a “Since I couldn’t get free , I’ll make them pay for this” attitude.

    Report Post »  
  • votingusmcvet
    Posted on April 10, 2012 at 1:02pm

    maybe the NBP are holding classes isn’t their birthplace around pitsburgh ? Besides a left college being concerned about what they essentially teach to do to others……what a surprise that such things would happen from their “could have been my boy” psychosis.

    Report Post »  
  • tiredofprogressives
    Posted on April 10, 2012 at 12:51pm

    Who cares about PITT. I left that city 15 years ago due to the crazy ass liberals. They ran the Public Television , WQED, for decades priming their leftist agenda and now it has gone into PITT with Transgenders. Education sucks anymore due to the radicals that have infiltrated these universities and colleges. And you idiots pay them all the money to say “ I am a graduate of Pitt”. LOL. Morons.

    Report Post » tiredofprogressives  
  • lainpa
    Posted on April 10, 2012 at 9:43am

    I’m on staff at the University. It has been crazy. This started for my building mid-March. I’m in the Cathedral of Learning, one of the tallest education buildings in the US. It is a very symbolic target. It could be OWS, it could be students upset with education cuts made by our republican governor, it could be someone upset over the transgender policies here at Pitt. It is not someone just trying to get out of class. It is stressful. At least, we did set up a satellite location for our computer department. Someone in my group did provide class lists of who was in the buildings threatened at the time of the threats. Not sure if that was used or not. Thought perpetrator went home for the holiday, all was quiet til 4:30 pm Friday, when the alarm behind me went off. This continued throughout the weekend, when there were no classes. This was new and several new buildings were added to the target list. stopthepittbombthreats.blogspot.com

    Report Post »  
  • dsm
    Posted on April 10, 2012 at 6:49am

    Considering Scott Baker is from Pittsburgh, it took long enough to cover this story. The threats have been going on for two weeks.

    Report Post »  
    • Wyatt's Torch
      Posted on April 10, 2012 at 8:03am

      Why give the cowardly bathroom stall writers any press at all? That is what they want.

      Report Post » Wyatt's Torch  
  • SysAdminPgh
    Posted on April 10, 2012 at 3:35am

    I quit giving PITT money when the School of Education at PITT brought Bill Ayers in as a speaker. Has anyone asked what Ayers said? He did such a wonderful job bombing the Gulf Building… I’m sure he told them all how proud he is of doing it.

    Report Post »  
  • MammalOne
    Posted on April 9, 2012 at 11:37pm

    Sounds like someone is trying to get out of some homework assignments. Has any bomber ever warned the people he was going to bomb before he did it? Even once?

    Report Post » MammalOne  
  • Neil Baker
    Posted on April 9, 2012 at 11:29pm

    I was arrested in 2010 on a trumped up charge of “threats to bomb or injure property.”
    I was jailed for 10 days as a political prisoner and committed for 12 days as a political dissident. I was released after 3 shrinks concluded I had no mental illness, no personality disorders and required no meds.
    After dragging court proceedings out for ten months in an unsuccessful attempt to break me financially into accepting a plea bargain, the pusillanimous UCSB mafia dismissed charges two days before the trial because they knew they would lose and be exposed in court as unaccountable criminal thugs.
    While employed with them, I had blown the whistle on UCSB mafia for illegal hiring, inteviews and background checks and for discriminating against American Citizens for staff and student intern positions.

    I was bullied, threatened, assaulted, mobbed, unfairly terminated, sabotaged, libeled, defamed, arrested, jailed, committed, harassed, surveiled and rendered unemployable which is a form of attempted murder.

    UCSB was desperate to have me arrested because after they sabotaged my hire at Yale, I began an aggressive counter-propaganda campaign that nearly resulted in UCSB going out on strike in demand for an independent 911 investigation.

    Prosecution’s evidence folder revealed I was arrested for “threateing to accuse UCSB of crimes” and “threatening to incite a strike”, both felonies. But I “threatened” nothing. I did accuse and I did incite. Both legal.

    UCSB broke

    Report Post »  
    • MammalOne
      Posted on April 9, 2012 at 11:41pm

      The Santa Barbara criminal “justice” system is SO corrupted. My friend drew a cartoon dinosaur on a bathroom stall on the UCSB campus and they spent thousands of dollars trying to get him thrown in jail for a FELONY. They said it cost them $500 to paint over it. Really? At $500 per square foot of paint, I’d hate to think how much it cost them to paint their buildings. I‘m so glad I’m out of that godforsaken city and it’s mob of corrupt officials.

      Report Post » MammalOne  
  • Danielle Ohliger
    Posted on April 9, 2012 at 11:04pm

    Point Park College (Downtown Pittsburgh) received a bomb threat today, second one threat for Point Park College.

    Report Post » Danielle Ohliger  
  • barber2
    Posted on April 9, 2012 at 9:06pm

    Wasn’t mid February when the Pittsburgh Occupy was closed down ?

    Report Post »  
    • Danielle Ohliger
      Posted on April 9, 2012 at 10:39pm

      Yes, mid-February they were evicted. They went peacefully but said they would be in the streets, in the newsletter they were printing, and making their statements to the public.

      Report Post » Danielle Ohliger  
    • EqualJustice
      Posted on April 10, 2012 at 10:11am

      I believe it’s Occupy, too.

      Report Post » EqualJustice  
  • blackyb
    Posted on April 9, 2012 at 9:03pm

    Someone wanting out of class.

    Report Post » blackyb  
  • Unix
    Posted on April 9, 2012 at 8:47pm

    I would start with the dropout list, then do some cyber sleuth work and trace the emails, at least to the ISP. Then it would be a matter of warrants to find the mad person.

    Report Post » Unix  
  • booger71
    Posted on April 9, 2012 at 8:43pm

    I would say it is a student not wanting to take exams.

    Report Post » booger71  
    • Danielle Ohliger
      Posted on April 9, 2012 at 8:56pm

      That is too easy – they are using an “anonymous email host” its bouncing around all over the place so it is harder to find where the email originate. This has been going on since mid-February. My money is on Occupy.

      Report Post » Danielle Ohliger  
    • blackyb
      Posted on April 9, 2012 at 9:01pm

      Will illegals have to produce IDs?

      Report Post » blackyb  
  • Steverino
    Posted on April 9, 2012 at 8:41pm

    Does anyone have a clue as to what may have prompted this?

    Steve

    Report Post »  
  • burnteye86
    Posted on April 9, 2012 at 8:30pm

    They should check Bill Ayers and his homely wife. They could be practicing their trade again.

    Report Post » burnteye86  
  • Danielle Ohliger
    Posted on April 9, 2012 at 8:25pm

    Didn’t the Occupiers say they were “taking to the streets, churches and campus’”? This is costing a fortune! Better to crush with a thousand paper cuts — isn’t that what OWS and the leftist radicals keep saying?

    Report Post » Danielle Ohliger  
  • Baddoggy
    Posted on April 9, 2012 at 8:24pm

    Thats it…go around in fear and let them win. Bunch of @ussy professors….We have no real men anymore. We have no one who has any guts. Hell i will fly on any plane if they alow everyone to be armed….Panty waisted society we have.

    Report Post » Baddoggy  
    • SoupSammich
      Posted on April 9, 2012 at 9:36pm

      Lets use ******-ish and panty waste to keep it classier, what say you? How could you hold a young mind deeply impassioned with library science and OWS histrory to your standards?

      Report Post »  
  • Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
    Posted on April 9, 2012 at 8:18pm

    So which of Obama’s cronies is doing this so the adminsitration can use the matter to further crack down on our freedoms? How long until real bombs start going off on his instructions?

    Report Post » Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}  
    • Polarized America
      Posted on April 9, 2012 at 8:23pm

      I see you’re back to normal … i was getting worried

      Report Post »  
    • 13th Imam
      Posted on April 9, 2012 at 8:39pm

      4/9 OWS said this crap would start. Some won’t see , because they don’t want to see. I hope they are hit first.

      Report Post » 13th Imam  
  • sooner12
    Posted on April 9, 2012 at 8:16pm

    I hope the perpetrator is revealed and sent to prison for looooooong time. This kind of cr@p needs to stop.

    Report Post »  
  • Midwest Blonde
    Posted on April 9, 2012 at 8:13pm

    Like the story of the boy who cried “wolf”. The campus will not find anything for many many threats, then they’ll get complacent and not look for a bomb – then it will happen. Sad.

    Report Post » Midwest Blonde  
  • Psychosis
    Posted on April 9, 2012 at 8:09pm

    betcha its an owser loser

    Report Post » Psychosis  

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