Facebook threat to UW deemed not credible

Law enforcement determined a threat to UW’s campus posted to Laramie Live’s Facebook page last Thursday was not credible following an FBI investigation.

Albany County Undersheriff Robert Debree said all threats, regardless of initial credibility, are taken seriously. Debree also said the determination that the threat was not credible came from the FBI.

“The FBI determined that it was highly believed that it was a noncredible threat,” Debree said.

Debree said the Albany County Sheriff’s Department standard procedure for a threat of this type is to notify all of the relevant local authorities, in this case the Laramie Police Department and University of Wyoming Police Department. Because of the online nature of the threat, they also notified the FBI of the situation.

“The FBI is better equipped to investigate a threat from the Internet because they have access to more resources,” Debree said.

The Facebook post in question, posted on Thursday morning, said, “There will be a blast in university on Friday 20 March,” leading to speculation of a bomb on campus.

Chad Baldwin, UW’s director of Institutional Communications, said the school’s response to a threat involves contacting local authorities to assess the threat and determine the proper course of action.

 “When we hear about a threat, we cooperate with the Laramie Police Department and Albany County Sheriff’s office to assess the credibility of the threat,” Baldwin said.

Baldwin said one possible response to a threat deemed credible would be to close buildings on campus, but this would be a response to a threat mentioning specific buildings. He also said there have been no threats to campus security in 2014 or so far in 2015.

The University of Wyoming Police Chief Mike Stamp encouraged the community to report any suspicious packages or vehicles near campus to the University of Wyoming Police Department.