Lawrence Hall closed for about an hour Wednesday morning because of a suspicious backpack found in a first-floor men’s restroom.
The University’s Department of Public Safety, the Eugene Police Department and the Department of Homeland Security responded to a call about a suspicious package. A bomb squad brought in a bomb-sniffing dog and evacuated the south side of the building, EPD and DPS officials said.
Director of Public Safety Doug Tripp and Deputy Director Carolyn McDermed said they could not comment on the found bag or give other details that could interfere with an ongoing investigation. An e-mail from EPD said the backpack was locked to a handrail in the restroom.
According to the EPD release, Garrett Soan Lon Len, 19, was cited for disorderly conduct, which carries a base fine of $255 through the Eugene Municipal Court.
EPD spokesperson Jenna LaBounty said the charge of disorderly conduct came from the disruption the backpack caused and “doesn’t necessarily speak to intent.”
University junior Ben Reider said he first saw the backpack with a sign that read “April fool’s” connected to it and thought it was suspicious that the bag was padlocked to a restroom stall. Reider said he then reported the backpack to a co-worker in Facilities Services.
The bag “had been locked for safekeeping by a student while he attended class,” according to the release.
DPS officers evacuated faculty and staff from the south portion of the building. E-mail alerts were sent to students, and information was posted on the University’s main Web site and Emergency Management site.
“I was very pleased with the level of cooperation of all people in the building,” McDermed said. “We had a great response and cooperation and ultimately, I think it minimized the amount of time we had to have that building closed.” The University’s initial warnings said the building would be closed for four to six hours. Tripp said initially “there were a lot of unknowns” and it became easier to estimate how long the building would be closed after inspecting the bag.
Tripp said the University decided to not use its text message alert system because only a small area was affected and it was easy to evacuate.
“We want to reserve (text message alerts) for incidents of a significant nature,” Tripp said. “Overusing that will diminish its effectiveness.”
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– Lauren Fox contributed to this report
Lawrence Hall evacuated; backpack found harmless
Daily Emerald
May 5, 2009
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