A Colgate University student was taken into custody by local authorities for posting an explicit threat of campus violence on the social media platform YikYak, according to a Sep. 28 email from the Associate Vice President for Emergency Management, Campus Safety and Environmental Health and Safety Joseph P. Hernon.
The University worked with the department of Campus Safety and the New York State Police in addition to other local, state and federal law enforcement agencies to respond to the threat.
“Through collaboration with the responding law enforcement agencies, we identified the student who made the threatening post,” the email read. “Thanks to the swift actions of campus safety and other first responders, we were able to respond to this information quickly, and the student in question was located and taken into custody by local authorities.”
The identity of the student will be kept private by the University and law enforcement agencies in compliance with federal privacy laws. The student will also face disciplinary action by the University through the student conduct process as well as the possibility of additional criminal charges by any of the responding authorities.
Hernon expressed gratitude to members of the Colgate community who reported the post and provided other important information, stressing that the University acknowledges the significance of these kinds of threats.
“We take all threats of violence very seriously, and will investigate them vigorously with the help of local, state, and/or federal agencies,” the email read.
The email encouraged students who see someone or something suspicious to contact Campus Safety.
