Philadelphia College Lockdown Not Related To Online Threat: Police

By KARA SEYMOUR

The Community College of Philadelphia was put on lockdown Tuesday, a day after the FBI warned of a online threat prompted colleges throughout the region to be on alert.

But authorities tell 6ABC that the incident Tuesday morning arose out of an isolateddispute between two students. It was not related to the online threat, which was made Friday on an anonymous social media site.

According to 6ABC, one man threatened another with a handgun on campus and then fled into a school building. The man, who as of 2:40 p.m. remains unidentified, is in police custody, authorities confirmed.

The timing of the incident, however, couldn’t have been worse.

Students across the region, from Bucks County Community College to Temple and Villanova, were on the edge of their seats Monday after the threat on 4chan.

The FBI on Sunday informed all Philadelphia-area colleges of the threat, which suggested an act of violence on Monday afternoon at a college or institution “near Philadelphia.”

Chris Harper-Mercer, the man behind last week’s shooting in Oregon, reportedly used the same site to post a threat before his deadly rampage.

Philly.com obtained a photograph of the threat, which reads:

“This is only the beginning, . . .On October 5, 2015 at 1:00 PM CT, a fellow robot will take up arms against a university near Philadelphia. His cries will be heard, his victims will cower in fear, and the strength of the Union will decay a little more.”

The post shared by Harper-Mercer included an image of a cartoon frog holding a gun, and the threat against the Philadelphia-area college had a similar image, Philly.com reported.

Despite its lack of specifics, the threat put local law enforcement and area colleges on alert for much of the day Monday.

Bucks County Community College worked closely with local law enforcement officials, although it continued to operate on its normal schedule. However, BCCC officials told students and staff to be “aware of their surroundings and report any suspicious activity.”

Drexel University issued a public safety advisory informing their students of the threat.

“Since the shooting last week at a community college in Oregon, the FBI has seen similar social media postings throughout the country,” the University wrote in their advisory. “Although the FBI has assured us there is no specific threat to a particular college or university, we are taking this very seriously and are taking extra precautions to protect the Drexel community.”

Drexel provided increased patrols on Monday and coordinated with Philadelphia Police.

Villanova University also issued a similar warning to its students. In a similar advisory, they told students that authorities have no knowledge of a specific threat, but had notified the Radnor Police Department and increased safety patrols.

Throughout the region, local police, including in Radnor and Newtown, were in communication with school officials.

“We take the attached FBI alert information very seriously. In order to be as informed and safe as possible concerning this safety warning, the Newtown Township Detective Bureau has been doing their due diligence in communicating with the college campuses within Newtown Township -- Bucks County Community College, LaSalle University and Holy Family University,” Newtown Township Police said.