Police, BCCC On Alert After FBI Warning To Area Colleges

Bucks County Community College is working closely with local law enforcement officials following a warning from the FBI regarding a recent social media post that threatened violence at a Philadelphia-area college or university.

The college will operate on its normal schedule Monday. However, BCCC officials say students and staff are encouraged to be “aware of their surroundings and report any suspicious activity.”

The FBI on Sunday informed all Philadelphia-area colleges of the recent social media post threatening violence at an area college or university on Oct. 5. No specific college was named in the threat, the FBI said.

“BCCC Security continues to closely monitor the situation and is working with local law enforcement,” Bucks County Community College said via Facebook.

Local police say they are 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 posted on Facebook.

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 said they plan to provide increased patrols on Monday and are coordinating with the University of Pennsylvania and Philadelphia Police.

Villanova University has also issued a similar warning to its students, reports NBC Philadelphia. In a similar advisory, they tell students authorities have no knowledge of a specific threat, they have notified the Radnor Police Department and have increased safety patrols.

They ask the community to report any suspicious behavior to the Department of Public Safety at 610-519-4444.