Albany State University among several historically black colleges and universities receiving threats

ALBANY – Students, faculty and staff at Albany State University’s were temporarily relocated after the school received a bomb threat at its east campus Sunday. 

Michael Montgomery, ASU’s associate vice president of Marketing and Communications, shared a statement with The Albany Herald that read the threat prompted an immediate safety response. 

An investigation into the threat determined there was no credible threat to ASU’s campus, according to the statement. Montgomery confirmed the investigation is still ongoing.

“An all clear has been issued, and normal operations have resumed.” the statement read. “We appreciate the cooperation, patience, and calm shown by our campus community during today’s response.”

Montgomery was asked additional questions to the university’s released statement and said the university had no other comment at this time.

With this threat, ASU joins several historically black colleges and universities across the South that have received potential threats in September. Hampton University, Virginia State University, Bethune-Cookman University, Clark Atlanta University, Southern University and Alabama State University were placed on lockdown Sept. 11 after receiving “potential threats to campus safety,” according to statements released on the schools’ social media.

These lockdowns came one day after Charlie Kirk, a conservative activist, was shot and killed at a Utah college campus event. 

The FBI released a statement to media outlets after these Sept. 11 threats, saying it “takes these threats very seriously because it puts innocent people at risk. While we have no information to indicate a credible threat, we will continue to work with our local, state and federal law enforcement partners to gather, share and act upon threat information as it comes to our attention.”