Lillis Business Complex will be shut down until 7 a.m. Tuesday because of a bomb threat made Saturday afternoon. The threat said a bomb would go off in Lillis today.
All Monday classes in Chiles, Gilbert Hall and Lillis have been canceled.
Immediately after receiving the information Saturday, the Department of Public Safety locked down the building and relayed the threat to the Eugene Police Department. Eugene Police and the Federal Protective Service searched the building for several hours but found no evidence to support the claim. EPD concluded the threat not credible.
Although University administrators, following the search and thorough discussion with EPD, did not consider the threat a serious one, they decided to close down the complex for two days out of caution.
“We have a high degree of confidence that the threat is not credible,” said Phil Weiler, University director of public and media relations.
Eugene Police considered the threat not credible because of a number of factors, EPD Sergeant Rich Stronach said. Stronach said the location of the threat, which was written on a bathroom stall wall in Esslinger Hall, detracted from its credibility. Also, the EPD bomb unit and bomb-sniffing dogs found no explosive device.
“The totality of all that combined said it’s not a very credible threat,” Stronach said. Still, he said EPD did not consider the threat completely invalid.
The person who made the threat has not been identified, and Stronach said unless somebody comes forward with information, it is unlikely that he or she will be found.
Threats such as these happen “periodically,” Stronach said, and come in waves, which is why EPD and the University did not send out press releases about the incident. He said publicity might encourage more threats.
University President Dave Frohnmayer was not available for comment, but in an e-mail sent to students and faculty Saturday, he said the buildings were closed as a precaution, and noted “UO and law enforcement officials do not believe the threat is credible.”
Weiler mentioned the Virginia Tech shooting as a probable cause of elevated concern around the threat, and said University administrators took that into consideration when deciding to close the complex.
In 2004, bomb threats were made against the Knight Library and Lawrence Hall. Both threats proved false.
Stronach said he hopes this incident isn’t the start of a similar threat trend.
“That just goes to show you that people do read the stuff written on bathroom walls,” he said.