College Station, TX – Texas A&M issued a Code Maroon emergency alert at 12:25 pm on Wednesday afternoon following a bomb threat.
According to Texas A&M emergency information, Kyle Field is currently being searched for any suspicious objects. Officials have evacuated Kyle Field, Reed Building, G. Rollie White, Neetum Steed, and the Bright Athletics complex. The buildings will remain closed for the remainder of the day to ensure student and faculty safety.
No more information on the situation is currently available.
Texas A&M defines a bomb threat as “a verbal threat to detonate an explosive or incendiary device to cause property damage or injuries, whether or not such a device actually exists.”
USA Today reported that on October 19, 2012 the campus was reopened to 60,000 students after having received a bomb threat. University President R. Bowen Loftin urged students that day to “be considerate and let your families know that you are safe.”
In September, the University of Texas at Austin had a similar situation that caused a campus wide evacuation, but officials cleared the campus after an extensive search revealed that no explosives were present.
Check out the university’s emergency information page for up to the minute updates on the Texas A&M bomb threat.
Code Maroon Bomb threat investigation at Kyle. Stadium and adjacent bldgs will be closed for remainder of day. -see emergency.tamu.edu
— CodeMaroon @ TAMU (@TAMUCodeMaroon) February 20, 2013
Here’s some Twitter chatter from students and faculty affected by the incident:
Bomb threat on campus…office mate asks me protocol, my response…idk those things don’t phase me over there. Who am I becoming?
— J. Capers (@jazzyjuree) February 20, 2013
Bomb threat sirens going off during my microbiology test…as if it wasn’t already stressful enough
— Emilee Allison (@emilee_allison) February 20, 2013
Can universities better prepare for threats of this nature?