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FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force probes bomb threats at University of Pittsburgh

Dozens of bomb threats at the University of Pittsburgh since have disrupted classes and dorm life and prompted some students to find housing off campus weeks before the semester ends.
Image: Students and faculty line up with visitors to get through a security checkpoint  to enter the Cathedral of Learning on the University of Pittsburgh campus, on Tuesday, April 10.
Students and faculty line up with visitors to get through a security checkpoint to enter the Cathedral of Learning on the University of Pittsburgh's campus on Tuesday. Keith Srakocic / AP
/ Source: The New York Times

Dozens of bomb threats at the University of Pittsburgh since mid-February have disrupted classes and dormitory life and prompted some students to find housing off campus just weeks before the semester ends.

Since the first warning about a hidden explosive device was found scrawled on the wall of a public women’s bathroom on Feb. 13, there have been 56 more — some written on walls, and some sent by anonymous e-mail to Pittsburgh news outlets. On Monday alone, 12 threats were received, a university spokesman said.

The police have said that there have been no explosions, and that no explosives have been found. The F.B.I.’s Joint Terrorism Task Force has joined the campus police in investigating the source of the threats, but no suspect has been named.

David J. Hickton, the United States attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania, issued a statement on Friday saying the threats “are being vigorously, aggressively and thoroughly investigated through every possible means.”

As each threat was discovered, the university responded by evacuating students and bringing in bomb squads to scour buildings. The sweeps can take hours, displacing people from libraries, research facilities and classrooms during the day and students in the middle of the night. The university has contacted students about evacuations through its emergency notification system, which includes e-mails, text messages and Twitter updates through its @PittTweet account.

The university’s Twitter account was quiet into the early evening Tuesday, with the exception of a link to information about campus events.

Nonetheless, students said uncertainty and strict new campuswide security measures were causing distress.

Checkpoints
Under new measures that began to go into effect last week, students and staff members are required to open bags and backpacks for inspection and show identification before entering any building on campus.

To avoid long checkpoint lines outside academic buildings, Evan Fitzpatrick, 20, a sophomore finance major, said he left his laptop and books in his dorm room on Monday, heading to his class with just a pencil and a notebook.

Ten minutes into the 11 a.m. class, he said, a campus police officer arrived and told the students that they had to evacuate because of a bomb threat. Mr. Fitzpatrick said he tried to go back to his dorm, but it, too, had been emptied because of a threat. Later that day, his 3 p.m. class was canceled, he said, again because of an evacuation.

“I have to admit, it made me a little bit uneasy to know that the place you sleep could be threatened,” he said.

The mood on campus has shifted in recent days, he said. “I think that we started off thinking it was a joke,” he said. “Then it got annoying. Now, at this point — I won’t lie — I got a little bit scared.”

While Mr. Fitzpatrick said he intended to remain on campus through final exams, which begin on April 23, he said other students had packed and headed home or moved off campus. “They just can’t deal with it,” he said.

Tyler McLaughlin, a senior studying math and molecular biology, said he had skipped classes because of the repeated bomb threats. Having to wait in a line to get into the Cathedral of Learning while the police check IDs has limited how often Mr. McLaughlin uses the building, the university’s most prominent.

Alexander Cull of Doylestown, Pa., a sophomore studying molecular biology, said that some exams were interrupted by evacuations, and that now he was taking all of those tests online. He said that the day before he had waited in line for half an hour to have his ID checked to get into a class.

$50,000 reward
Mr. Cull said he had offered some friends a space at his off-campus apartment. Other students have set up a Facebook page and a Google spreadsheet with information about off-campus accommodations for those dormitory residents weary of standing for hours outside their residence halls while bomb squads sweep for devices.

The University of Pittsburgh does not plan to end the semester early, but school administrators have asked professors to abandon attendance policies and work with those students who have decided to leave campus out of safety concerns or an inability to cope with being rousted in the predawn darkness for hours at a time.

Robert Hill, a university spokesman, said every precaution was being taken to ensure students’ safety. “We have been able to conduct our business despite the threats,” he said. “But the threats have been very disruptive.”

Mr. Hill said the university had also increased foot patrols, expanded surveillance cameras and turned to other law enforcement agencies for help with bomb-sniffing canine teams to expedite searches for bombs.

Pitt is offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.

Jonathan Barnes contributed reporting.

This story, "", originally appeared in The New York Times.