FBI investigating threat sent to students at Southern, other HBCUs

BATON ROUGE — The FBI is investigating threats sent to students at Southern University and other Historically Black Colleges and Universities on Thursday.

Southern University placed its campus on lockdown Thursday after receiving a potential threat to campus security, canceling classes and campus activities through the weekend, even after the lockdown was lifted.

The lockdown for the entire Baton Rouge landmass, which also includes Southern University Law Center, Southern University Agricultural Research and Extension Center, and Southern University Laboratory School, was issued around 11 a.m.

By 12:45 p.m., the lockdown was lifted.

"Students residing off campus and all non-essential employees should evacuate campus. Accommodations will be made for students who reside on campus and instructions will be communicated directly to them," the university said.

Sources confirmed that the threat stated that someone wanted to come to Southern University to kill multiple Black people.

For many students, the experience was unsettling and emotional.

"Us versus them mentality in the United States is going to be leading to the direct degradation of the American people. It's quite ridiculous to witness, and I'm only 24 and I've been able to see this over the past six years. It's been getting heightened, and people don't seem to realize that everyone else is here with them on this rock together," Matthew L. Johnson said.

Riggous Allcutt shared, "Whenever I came on campus and I saw what was going on, it kind of broke my heart, and not towards the nature of me being fearful for my life, but towards the nature of having to slow down our lives."

For some students, the threat was especially difficult. “For me, this is my first time away from home. I'm six hours away. I'm in a whole different state. This is, like, all to me, and my parents are worried, you know, they're worried sick. My mom's calling me, she's praying. She's, you know, trying to figure out what's going on. I'm trying to figure out what's going on, and she's just glad that I'm safe,” Bryson Neal said.

Students leaving campus say they're disappointed in today's events and recent violence.

"So we're already on edge with the gun control laws in America, but to kind of have it hit home is different. We never think stuff like this would happen to us, and so to actually be off campus right now, I'm supposed to be in class. It's just a surreal feeling I can't explain," Malik Jackson said.

Five other HBCUs across the country — Clark Atlanta University, Bethune-Cookman University, Hampton University, Alabama State University and Virginia State University — also received threats to their campuses. Spellman College also had its campus shelter in place out of an abundance of caution due to its proximity to Clark Atlanta.

The FBI sent the following statement on Thursday afternoon:

"The FBI is aware of hoax threat calls to a number of Historically Black Colleges and Universities. The FBI 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. We urge the public to remain vigilant, and report any and all suspicious activity and/or individuals to law enforcement immediately."

Below is a censored image of the message sent to Southern students: