University of Texas, El Paso campus had to be evacuated Tuesday afternoon after officials received an anonymous bomb threat. Classes were cancelled for the rest of the day.
The university issued an alert on its official website:
"Due to an anonymous threat, The University of Texas at El Paso will close today at 2:00 p.m. Faculty, staff and students should evacuate the premises in an orderly fashion as soon as possible. Please do not remain on campus."
At around 4:00 p.m., students living in campus were told to return to their dormitories, Miner Village and Miner Heights, via email.
The campus was re-opened 7:00 p.m. after the police personnel searched the entire campus and found it to be safe. However, buildings will remain closed until Wednesday evening.
The campus comprises of more than 22,000 students.
"It was jammed packed with everyone trying to leave campus at the same time," a student, Conor Bellegrade, told Fox News. He was in the library doing his homework when he got the text message.
Another student, sophomore AC Patterson, couldn't submit his assignment as the road leading toward the college was full of traffic. He hoped that his lecturer would understand the situation.
Miner Alert system was used for the first time to evacuate faculty members and students from the campus. All students registered with the system to receive timely alerts.
UTEP Police Chief Cliff Walsh said that the campus-wide evacuation was taken as a precautionary measure. He said that the threat was issued by a phone call.
They have decided not to disclose any details about the ongoing investigation.
