A former Oregon State University student was arrested Tuesday after he had tweeted violent threats including, “Oregon State University campus going to get shot up.”
A report by the Oregonian found that this was one of at least six arrests for threats of violence or shooting in Oregon since the Parkland, Florida incident on Feb. 14, when 17 people were killed.
No threats have been made in Eugene or the University of Oregon, according to local police officials.
Eugene Police spokesman John Hankemeier said there have been no credible gun threats in Eugene recently. He said “credible” because a viral tweet circulated on Feb. 21 of someone saying they would bring a gun to “SHS,” which many families in Eugene thought referred to Sheldon High School, according to Hankemeier. But it was later found to reference a school in Ohio, according to a KEZI news report.
Kelly McIver, a spokesperson for the UO Police Department, wrote in an email that the department has not heard of any threats of shooting at the University of Oregon in the time since the Parkland shooting.
“UOPD is always vigilant about potential threats of violence on campus. It is not something that the department relaxes about between national or international mass-violence incidents,” McIver said.
Oregon State Police originally received a tip about the threats to OSU’s campus from SafeOregon, an online resource where anyone can report possible threats to students in Oregon.
The phone number to call-in or text a tip is 844-472-3367 and a link to the website is here.