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Texas, N. Dakota Campuses Reopen After Bomb Scares

Bomb threats hit two universities, but no explosives found
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Sep 14, 2012 12:45 PM CDT
Updated Sep 14, 2012 4:31 PM CDT
Campuses Evacuated in Texas, N. Dakota
Students gather outside North Dakota State University's Klai Hall after the downtown campus, along with the main campus, was evacuated because of a bomb threat Friday.   (AP Photo/The Forum, J. Shane Mercer)

Tens of thousands of people streamed off university campuses in Texas and North Dakota today after telephoned bomb threats prompted officials to warn students and faculty to get away as quickly as possible. Both campuses eventually were deemed safe and reopened by early afternoon, as authorities worked to determine whether the threats were related.

  • Texas: The University of Texas received a call about 8:35am local time from a man claiming to be with al-Qaida who said he had placed bombs all over the 50,000-student Austin campus, according to the school. He claimed the bombs would go off in 90 minutes and all buildings were evacuated at 9:50am as a precaution. The deadline passed without incident, and the university reopened all buildings by noon but canceled classes for the day.
  • North Dakota: North Dakota State University President Dean Bresciani said 20,000 people were evacuated from his school's main and downtown campuses in Fargo after the threat. FBI spokesman Kyle Loven said a call that included a "threat of an explosive device" came in about 9:45am, but he declined to give further details. NDSU buildings reopened about 1pm and classes were set to resume an hour later.
(More Texas stories.)

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