BALTIMORE — Bowie State University’s campus closed Monday as a result of a bomb threat, officials said. The school in Prince George’s County was among several other historically Black colleges to receive threats Monday.
After a campus-wide search, no explosives were found, and the campus was cleared at about 1:30 Monday afternoon, Maryland State Police said.
A university lockdown was lifted a short time later, said Bowie State spokeswoman Cassandra Robinson, and students and staff were able to move about the campus. The threat forced classes online for the day, and forced the university to make plans to feed students stuck in on-campus residences.
Just before 6 a.m., the Bowie Police Department received a phone call with the threat, according to a news release from Maryland State Police, which is leading the investigation.
Explosive detection dogs were used to conduct a “full search of campus,” according to the state police news release. Officials from the state police Criminal Enforcement Division were on hand, alongside representatives from the Office of the State Fire Marshal and a number of other law enforcement agencies.
“While the credibility of the phone call is in question, Maryland State Police take all bomb threats seriously and will conduct a thorough investigation,” read the news release from state police.
Around 9 a.m., the Maryland Transit Administration advised that MARC Penn Line trains would not stop at Bowie Station due to the policy activity.
As many as five other historically Black colleges also received bomb threats Monday morning, including nearby Howard University, according to a CNN report. A Washington Metropolitan Police Department spokesperson told CNN that no explosives were found at Howard. Jan. 5, Howard University was among three campuses that received bomb threats, but no explosives were located.
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