A student who was apparently homesick was arrested and confessed to sending threatening letters that frightened fellow black students at a small private university, police said Tuesday.
There never was a serious threat at Trinity International University, police Lt. Ron Price said Tuesday.
The woman was arrested and was expected to be charged Tuesday with disorderly conduct and a hate crime, Price said. He said she was unhappy at the Christian school and wanted to convince her parents it was too dangerous for her to stay.
"It's kind of a sad story, actually," Price said. Her name was not immediately released.
The letters, filled with threats toward minorities and racist epithets, had been received by three students over the past two weeks. At least one letter threatened a black female student with physical violence, authorities have said.
As a precaution, more than 40 black and Hispanic students, out of the student body of some 3,300 students, were moved out of their dormitories and into a hotel on Thursday.
They went back to their dormitories during the weekend and returned to classes Monday as the school and local police beefed up security at the campus north of Chicago.
"We are heartbroken by this revelation because we consider each student a member of our family," Trinity President Greg Waybright said in a statement. "We also have a sense of relief because this difficult situation appears to be resolved."