Man Threatened To Set Fire To UW-M Science Building: Report

SHOREWOOD, WI — A 28-year-old Shorewood man accused of threatening to set fire to a University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee science lab has been arrested and charged with disorderly conduct, UW-M police say. Omasanjuwa Wyse, a former student at the school, has also been banned from the entire UW-M campus, according to court records.

On Sept. 11, UM-W police received six calls about a disturbance in a lab at the science building located at 3200 N. Cramer St. When authorities arrived, a person running from the lab told them Wyse was inside with flammable materials, police say.

When police confronted Wyse, he had a plastic grocery bag in his left hand and multiple vials of an unknown liquid in the other, according to a Milwaukee County criminal complaint. A stick-style lighter was on the counter in front of him, police said.

Wyse was taken into custody at the scene.

Police also interviewed witnesses, including a UW-M employee Wyse reportedly asked to keep the lab open. When the employee declined the request, Wyse threatened "there would be a fire or explosion," the criminal complaint states.

Police said Wyse still managed to get into the lab, which contained numerous oxygen tanks and flammable materials. Lighters, matches and other igniters are strictly prohibited in the lab as they could "set the whole building off," according to UW-M officials.

Wyse has been released on a $1,000 signature bond, according to court records.

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