Bomb Scare Shakes Mt. Vernon

Last Tuesday marked a very tense time at the Mount Vernon campus, when a bomb threat was phoned in to an academic building Here’s how the story goes: a staff member contacted police after she received a brief, non-specific threat that a bomb was going to detonate nearby. The building was soon evacuated by UPD and swept for explosives by MPD K-9 units. The sweep, of course, was negative for such devices.

UPD Inspector Mark Balazik spoke to GW Radio about the scare. He noted that protocol was followed to the ‘t’ in this particular scenario. Normal procedure demands that a threat be called in to University Police, who then proceed to evacuate the affected area. But what begs further examination is what happens next. Depending on the specificity of the threat, Metropolitan Police are contacted; they can either elect to sweep with the use of trained dogs or call in an explosives unit if a device is discovered.

As Inspector Balazik told GW Radio a call that says, for example, “There is C-4 under such and such a stairwell and I’m doing this for such and such a reason,” demands a higher degree of concern and, of course, a higher degree of response. But what happens if the threat is non-specific, yet legitimate? This revelation has startled some students, such as freshman Amy D’Onofrio, who covers crime for The Hatchet. She maintains that all threats should be treated equally and as if they are all sincere.

Now, Inspector Balazik said that these threats are now extremely rare. In fact, they used to happen more frequently in the years immediately following 9/11. But in the wake of the tragedies at both Virginia Tech last year and Northern Illinois University last week, many are on edge (and constant alert), wondering where and when another will strike.

- Jared Pliner