Longwood Police say ‘person of interest’ in custody after threat

Published 5:22 pm Monday, October 14, 2024

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Classes will run on regular schedule Tuesday at Longwood University, less than a day after parts of campus were evacuated. Just after 1 p.m. Monday, Longwood Police notified students and staff that Grainger Hall was being shut down for the afternoon, due to a threat. 

“Please clear the building and allow police the space to investigate fully,” the statement to students and staff read. 

According to Longwood Police, an online bomb threat had come in, threatening that portion of the school. Virginia State Police and Farmville Police were called in to help with the investigation and by 3:16 p.m., Grainger Hall had been searched, confirmed to be clear of any dangers and reopened. Faculty and staff were allowed to return to collect their belongings and there had been no night classes scheduled, so nothing beyond the afternoon classes got canceled. According to the statement from Longwood Police, no other buildings on campus were targeted or impacted in any way. 

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“Thank you to everyone for clearing the building and nearby classrooms in the Rotunda quickly and efficiently,” University officials said in a statement released to students and staff. “For the safety of the campus community, LUPD and the university take all potential threats seriously and follow specific protocols and procedures when threats like these are made.” 

Farmville Police and VSP troopers directed all questions to Longwood in regards to both the threat and investigation. Longwood Police later on Monday confirmed they have a person of interest in custody and “the situation is now resolved.” The name of that person has not been released and as of late Monday afternoon, no charges have yet been filed.