On Thursday morning, Jan. 12, Ferris State University received a phone message in which the caller made a bomb threat. The caller did not give any specific campus location for the threat. University officials informed the campus through the university’s normal emergency communication methods. However, the University did not cancel classes or otherwise disrupt activity because of the nonspecific aspect of the threat.
“Because there were aspects of the threat that made it seem less than fully credible, and because we could not say whether any possible threat may have been in a classroom, residence hall, or some other University facility, we deemed it appropriate to make the threat known and continue with regular activities,” said Ferris Communications Officer Marc Sheehan. “We began a search of university buildings and asked people to be aware of their surroundings and report any unusual activity.”
That search of buildings did not turn up any explosives or other evidence that would lend credibility to the threat, and there was no other communication from the person who left the threatening message.
“Had the threat been more credible, we would have reacted differently as the safety and security of our people is our first and foremost priority,” said Sheehan. “Given the situation, we felt that closing campus could have by itself caused an unsafe environment. We took the situation very seriously but did not want to overreact.”
Ferris’ Department of Public Safety continues to investigate.