A residence hall at Howard University was evacuated late Tuesday after a bomb threat, D.C. police and university police said. The threat follows a string of threats made this year against Howard and other historically Black colleges and universities.
The university’s Department of Public Safety told students at about 11:20 p.m. that they needed to exit Cook Hall, a dorm that houses about 200 undergraduates.
D.C. police said officers were responding to a bomb threat received by phone related to the dorm. The threat did not appear credible, police said.
“DPS, in coordination with MPD, is conducting a search of the facility using human, animal, and mechanical explosive-finding resources. Students and personnel have been evacuated to assigned safe areas until MPD issues an all-clear order,” university police said in a statement.
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Students could be seen waiting outside.
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After about two hours, D.C. police issued an all-clear order, Howard police said. No information on a suspect was immediately released.
Dorms opened earlier this month, and classes began Monday.
HBCUs including Howard, Morgan State and the University of the District of Columbia received bomb threats in January and February. Threats also targeted Albany State University, in Georgia; Bethune-Cookman University, in Florida; Delaware State University and Southern University and A&M College, in Louisiana. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives responded to the threats, and President Joe Biden and the FBI were aware of them, officials said.
In April, fraternity and sorority sites on Howard’s campus were found defaced, the school said.
Stay with NBC Washington for more details on this developing story.
