Many University of Pittsburgh students are frustrated and scared after two months of bomb threats. but they remain supportive of school officials and police for how they are handling the outbreak.
More threats came Friday, after reports the previous night of a written threat in a stairwell at the Cathedral of Learning (photo), the landmark building at the center of campus. That's where the first threat was delivered. Later threats targeted numerous buildings and arrived via anonymous emails, bounced through a series of computer servers to mask the original sender.
"A lot of people are really scared," student Christine Lama, 19, said. "Now it's gotten really bad." But Lama said she was not worried about an actual bomb, and felt the school was doing all it could.
No bombs have been found and no injuries reported. Authorities say they have made progress in the investigation, but have not released details. The school imposed new security measures on Sunday and is offering a $50,000 reward for information.
Denise Bigelow, 22, an information-science major, said the university of about 35,000 students and teachers presented a huge challenge for campus police. "I feel like there's not a whole lot they can do," Bigelow said.
Mary Ellen O'Toole, a former senior criminal profiler for the FBI, said the Pitt threats were "pretty unique" because of their sheer number. Several dozen threats targeting more than eighty campus buildings have been made since February. She said the number also suggested the threats may be from more than one person. "This is exactly the kind of behavior that could trigger a copycatter," she said.
15 April 2012
Somebody doesn't like Pitt
Rico says it's probably some disgruntled student, but Kevin Begos of the Associated Press has the story in the Philadelphia Inquirer:
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment