At least five historically Black colleges locked down campuses, canceled classes or ordered students to shelter in place after receiving “credible threats” of violence on Thursday. Many of the precautionary measures are no longer in place.
Alabama State University, Clark Atlanta College, Hampton University, Southern University and Virginia State University were among those affected.
Southern University and Virginia State University have since lifted their lockdowns. Alabama State University has, as well, but is still asking students to shelter in place.
The schools have not provided details of the threats, but all said they were working with local law enforcement.
The FBI said the threats are a "hoax."
"The FBI is aware of hoax threat calls to a number of Historically Black Colleges and Universities," the agency said in a statement. "The FBI takes these threats very seriously because it puts innocent people at risk. While we have no information to indicate a credible threat, we will continue to work with our local, state, and federal law enforcement partners to gather, share, and act upon threat information as it comes to our attention."
Kennedy Kyser, a sophomore at Hampton University, said she was in a journalism class watching a 9/11 video around 10:15 a.m. when someone blurted out that there was a threat to the campus. Confusion ensued, and she and others left the classroom and went downstairs to a lobby full of distressed students.
“A lot of people were crying,” Kyser told NBC News. “There was a lot of confusion.”
Bethune-Cookman College in Daytona Beach, Florida, also canceled classes as a precaution, although the school says it has not received a direct threat. Out of precaution and because of its proximity to Clark, Spelman College in Atlanta also ordered its staff and students to shelter in place and avoid the neighboring campus across the street. The order has since been lifted.
Alabama State released a statement saying it was “working in close coordination with the appropriate law enforcement agencies to assess the situation and to ensure the safety and security of our students, faculty, staff, and the broader ASU community.”
Back at Hampton, Kyser said she remained poised until she got to her dorm room, where the magnitude of what could have happened hit her. “It settled in then and I called my mom and aunt to come and get me,” she said.
