DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) – The University of Dayton has responded after safety officers arrested a student for making a threat against the school on Yik Yak, a social media platform.
On Monday, Nov. 7, a UD student said they received at least three Yik Yak posts saying a school shooting would take place at 12 p.m. One of the posts said “I’m going to shoot up this school today at noon. don’t say I didn’t warn you. Marianist first.”
Students received a message from UD’s emergency notification system just after 12 p.m., however, the college did not go into lockdown. Less than an hour later, the university notified students that someone suspected of making the threat had been taken unto custody.
On Tuesday, the University of Dayton released a statement in partnership with the FBI, saying that the student responsible had been arrested and charged with Making a Terroristic Threat and Inducing Panic.
“This incident demonstrates the important partnership between the FBI and local police who work together each day to help protect our community,” stated FBI Cincinnati Special Agent in Charge J. William Rivers. “While the FBI provided assistance in this investigation, the University of Dayton Department of Public Safety led this effort and utilized all available resources to ensure the safety of students, faculty, and staff at UD.”
While the school did not go into lockdown, the University of Dayton says that the threat was taken seriously and dealt with appropriately.
Dear UD Community,
We want to update our community on the events and investigation after yesterday’s social media threat and arrest. We understand that this was an unnerving event for many people on and off campus.
We want to assure you that the disturbing social media post was immediately taken seriously and acted on by UD Public Safety and the University’s emergency management team; as well as our outside law enforcement partners, including the FBI, with whom we are providing the joint statement below.
During the course of yesterday’s brief, very intense and fluid investigation, law enforcement used known information to help inform decisions regarding campus activities, any necessary safety measures to adopt, and notifications to campus. Every situation is unique and handled based on the specific facts and circumstances at the time. We ask that you trust that the trained experts in UD Public Safety, beginning with Chief Kidd, and the University’s emergency management team will provide verified information and clear, timely safety directives to our community when they are appropriate, based on the situation. This is particularly important when social media posts are involved, as there invariably will be rumors and incorrect information being spread.
In this specific incident, it was important to apprehend the individual without possible escalation. The information we had at hand, and how quickly we were able to identify the individual and take him into custody, are reasons the University was not put into lockdown. The University is not necessarily going to be in a position to discuss tactical efforts, especially while they are ongoing and even after an incident when an investigation remains active.
These decisions are not taken lightly as the safety of our faculty, staff and students is always the University’s top priority.
– University of Dayton announcement
