sealPurdue News
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December 6, 2002

Bomb threat closes two campus buildings, area streets

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – A bomb threat today (Friday, 12/6) forced the evacuation of two buildings at Purdue University and closed several streets in the area.

A caller, believed to be a male, contacted a business office in the Agricultural Administration Building at approximately 1:25 p.m. and said four bombs were in the building. Purdue police and fire departments evacuated approximately 150 people from that facility as well as the nearby Forestry Building, said Ron Fosnaugh, captain of Purdue police special services.

Many of those evacuated were sheltered from cold temperatures in the basement of St. Thomas Aquinas Center as well as at the Purdue Memorial Union and Stewart Center. University administrators gave the evacuated personnel the option of leaving work for the remainder of the day.

The two buildings were reopened at 2:50 p.m. after a search by the Tippecanoe County Sheriff's Department Bomb Disposal Unit and a bomb-sniffing dog found no explosive devices.

Emergency personnel closed off Marsteller Street from State to Wood streets, and State Street from Grant to University streets. The streets were reopened to traffic at 2:50 p.m.

No classes are held in the Agricultural Administration Building, but two classes in the Forestry Building that were in session at the time of the bomb threat were canceled.

"The inconsiderate person responsible for making this false report cost the university thousands of dollars in lost wages, took officers away from other duties and locked up traffic for more than an hour," Fosnaugh said. "This serious offense disrupted the lives of students, Purdue employees and the public."

Police, fire and rescue units from West Lafayette, Purdue and the Tippecanoe County Sheriff's Department were involved in the evacuation and investigation.

Anyone with any information regarding the threat should contact Purdue police at (765) 494-8221.

Making a bomb threat is a Class D felony, punishable by up to three years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

Writer: Grant Flora, (765) 494-2073, gflora@purdue.edu

Source: Ron Fosnaugh, (765) 494-8221, rjfosnaugh@purdue.edu

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu


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