EMU police: Bomb threat that spurred evacuations a hoax

Normal operations resumed at Eastern Michigan University after a bomb threat hoax Tuesday led to building evacuations and class disruptions, the school's police said.

Campus actives and classes resumed at about 3 p.m. after no suspicious items were found involving a threat received through email, according to EMU police Chief Matthew Lige.

The chief said the school received an email around 12:30 p.m. indicating that a bomb could be in one of three undergraduate residence halls on campus. He said Wise, Buell and Putnam halls were evacuated along with several buildings connected to the dorm facilities, prompting slight disruptions in classes.

Earlier Tuesday, police said the threat was reported in other buildings.

"Bomb threat reported in (Wise, Buell, Putnam, Walton, Sellers, Phelps, Best, Downing, Eateries, DC1)," police said on the university's main web page.

Officers from the University of Michigan's K-9 unit were called to help in search efforts.

"We began a floor-by-floor methodical search of the buildings to locate any suspicious packages or devices that would support the threat," Lige said. "I'm happy to say that no items were located, no items were found and certainly, there were no injuries on campus today."

The chief said an investigation into the email is ongoing including at the state and federal level "to identify this individual and hold them accountable for making this threat."

"I appreciate the partnerships that we have with law enforcement across the county that provided support throughout the afternoon," Lige said. "... We have protocols for this and we have operational plans for this, and the things we've prepared for were utilized today."

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