Just one week before UNC undergraduate students begin their fall semester, the university evacuated a facility over a bomb threat.

The university police department shared a statement Monday afternoon saying UNC received a bomb threat at Carrington Hall around 12:46 p.m. The pair of buildings, which are home to the School of Nursing off South Columbia Street, were evacuated as several law enforcement agencies arrived to investigate the threat.

According to a statement from the university, UNC Police, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, the Chapel Hill Fire Department and Orange County EMS all had representatives on scene as a K-9 explosive detection team searched the area. The buildings were later deemed to be safe, although UNC’s initial statement did not confirm when Carrington Hall was determined to be all clear.

UNC Police confirmed to Chapelboro there was no Alert Carolina issued to the campus community over Monday’s incident. The department said because the K-9 unit found no explosives, there was no emergency threat to share in the early afternoon. Bomb threats and explosives fall under the “emergency alert” category of Alert Carolina messages. The other two levels are “crime alert” and “information alert.”

The UNC Police Department is continuing to investigate the bomb threat, according to media relations, with the FBI and North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation being contacted over the incident.

Carrington Hall on the campus of UNC is home to the university’s School of Nursing. (Photo via Jon Gardiner/UNC-Chapel Hill)

The bomb threat was not the only one in central North Carolina on Monday. WRAL reports North Carolina Central University police responded to a “possible suspicious device” around 11:44 a.m., while Elon University sent an alert to students about a “suspicious package” investigation at its student union. Both facilities were eventually cleared Monday afternoon.

The incident at NC Central is the second time this year the Durham campus experienced a lockdown based on threats. The university was among seven HBCUs targeted by a string of bomb threats in January. The UNC System has since responded by increasing funding for the security of North Carolina’s historically-Black colleges.

While UNC and North Carolina Central’s first day of classes is set for Monday, August 15, many students can begin moving into on-campus housing on Wednesday, August 10.

 

Photo via Jon Gardiner/UNC-Chapel Hill.

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