Bomb threats plague Florida universities

TAMPA, Fla. (U-WIRE) - Campus police around Florida got a taste of unwelcome deja vu Wednesday.

At University of South Florida, a bomb threat on the library was made Wednesday morning, just two weeks after a similar threat.

After the call, University Police swept the library and the College of Medicine library only to find the threats were unfounded.

At Florida A&M University, police weren't so lucky. At 10:47 a.m. Wednesday a small pipe bomb went off in a bathroom in the Tallahassee university. The bomb was the second of its kind in a month. No one was injured in either explosion, but FAMU classes were canceled for the duration of the day.

FAMU received a second threat Wednesday, but no bomb was found.

Adam Herbert, chancellor of the State University System, issued a statement Wednesday afternoon sternly criticizing the attacks on the FAMU campus.

"This type of behavior cannot be tolerated in a civilized society," he said. "I encourage anyone who has information regarding either of the bombings to contact law enforcement agencies immediately."

Sgt. Mike Klingebiel, spokesperson for USF's University Police, said no one could assume a connection with the USF bomb threats and FAMU bombings without further investigation.

"We'd be reaching to draw any correlation," he said. "That would be pure speculation on our part."

Klingebiel said the bomb threat on USF Wednesday came early morning.

As a result, the library was forced to open a half-hour late.

The bomb at FAMU exploded in a first-floor restroom of Paige Hall, causing part of the ceiling in the restroom to collapse, FAMU spokesperson Eddie Jackson told The Associated Press.

"This appears to be a bigger explosion than before," he said.

On Aug. 31, a similar bomb detonated on a first-floor restroom at Lee Hall, a FAMU administration building. In that explosion, the only damage done was to paint in the restroom.

Threats for both FAMU explosions were called in to WTXL-TV, the Tallahassee ABC affiliate.

In the first threat, a racial slur was used, according to the station's assignment editor. FAMU is a traditionally black university.

The day of the first explosion at FAMU, USF's University Police swept the administration building on the Tampa campus as a precaution.

Exactly two weeks before Wednesday's bomb threat, a call was placed to an anonymous police department in the Tampa Bay area, alerting police to the possibility of a bomb in a USF library.

But Klingebiel said the two USF bomb threats may not be connected.

"There are similarities (in the two threats to USF)," Klingebiel said. "At this time, it's too early to say there's a connection."

There is still an open UP investigation into the threats at USF.

The bombings at FAMU are being investigated by the FBI, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, FAMU campus police, the Tallahassee Police and the U.S. Department of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

A $10,000 reward has been offered for information leading to an arrest and conviction in the Aug. 31 bombing.

09-24-99