A bomb threat was reported on Sunday afternoon at University of Southern California’s Leavey and Doheny Memorial Libraries. As per reports, the police had quickly alerted the students, staff, and visitors to avoid the area while they carried out an inspection.
USC issues alert on social media
USC confirmed the incident on social media at around 2:45 pm, saying the threat was specifically linked to the two libraries. The university urged people to avoid the area as a precaution. An update posted before 4 pm stated that the investigation was still underway.
According to USC’s website, the Department of Public Safety is in charge of checking the situation. If an evacuation is required, people will be asked to go to their building’s assembly area and remain at least 300 feet away until it is declared safe to return.
Similar incident in August
This is not the first time USC has faced such a scare. In August, Los Angeles police investigated a suspicious device found in a storage area in Exposition Park, near the USC campus.
The LAPD bomb squad later confirmed the device was an inert military ordnance, posing no danger. No one was injured in that incident.
Student reactions on campus
Students received alerts on their phones and emails about the latest threat. Speaking to ABC7, one student said he initially thought it might be related to chemicals, since USC is a major research facility with several laboratories nearby. He speculated that mishandling of research materials could have caused concern.
“I was kind of thinking it might be some chemical thing, because as you know we are a research facility,” the student told ABC7.