Several Texas schools reportedly received fake bomb threats on Thursday. That afternoon, Dallas College’s Richland campus was evacuated after a bomb threat was called in to the police.
Around 2 p.m. on July 7, someone called Dallas police and reported the threat. The identity of the caller is unknown.
The college tweeted a warning to ensure students and staff stayed safe.
“This is a Dallas College Alert: Richland Campus is experiencing an emergency evacuation due to a Bomb Threat. Evacuate location by foot immediately. Move as far as possible from building(s). Not at site? STAY AWAY for your own safety,” the tweet read.
A school representative said that Dallas and college police investigated the threat and found it was a hoax, The Dallas Morning News reported. Just after 3 p.m., an all-clear was issued.
At about the same time, the University of North Texas Health Science Center (UNTHSC) at Fort Worth and the Alkek Fine Arts Center at Weatherford College, west of Fort Worth, received similar bomb threats.
UNTHSC announced the situation in a Twitter post that reads, “RED ALERT! H S C Campus! Please evacuate the RES building to the library or nearest emergency assembly point and await further instruction. At this time, no other buildings need to be evacuated. Please stand by for further instructions.”
“Around 2 p.m. Thursday, WCPD, WPD, & WFD responded to a reported bomb threat in the Alkek Fine Arts Center,” Weatherford College tweeted. “Police quickly determined the credibility of the call was low. Emergency personnel conducted a precautionary search of the facilities & confirmed was no threat to the public.”
Austin Community College’s Round Rock and South Austin campuses also received such threats, as announced by the district on Twitter. A page on the district’s website discusses bomb threats and how to respond to them.