Philadelphia-Area Colleges Warned of Unspecified Threat, Possibly Related to UCC Shooting
ByFederal and local law enforcement is investigating a threat toward an unspecified college in or around Philadelphia.
Authorities disclosed they noticed the threat on 4chan, the same website where a warning for the Umpqua Community College (UCC) shooting appeared, an unnamed law enforcement source told The Philadelphia Daily News.
The threat reportedly appeared on Friday, reading: "On October 5, 2015 at 1:00 PM CT, a fellow robot will take up arms against a university near Philadelphia. His cries will be heard, his victims will cower in fear, and the strength of the Union will decay a little more."
Chris Harper-Mercer shot and killed eight people in a classroom on UCC's Roseburg, Ore. campus on Thursday before he died in a shootout with police. On Wednesday night, a similarly vague threat appeared on 4chan, warning students "in the northwest," The Daily New noted. The Philadelphia threat may have also contained a reference to the UCC shooting.
"The first of our kind has struck fear into the hearts of America," the 4chan post read, warning of a "ROBOT9001" that would carry out the act. "If you are in that area, you are encouraged to stay at home and watch the news as the chaos unfolds."
The University of Pennsylvania, Temple University, Drexel University, and La Salle University are among schools that have issued safety alerts to their campus communities.
According to USA Today, Drexel indicated in a statement addressing the threat that the FBI regularly handles similar threats around the country. Schools in the city are expected to operate as usual on Monday, though with extra security personnel.
"The FBI has seen similar social media postings throughout the country," read the statement. "Although the FBI has assured us there is no specific threat to a particular college or university, we are taking this very seriously and are taking extra precautions to protect the Drexel community."