ATLANTA — Spelman College in Atlanta received another potential bomb threat Tuesday morning, school officials said. A student sent 11Alive a copy of the alert that went out informing them of the latest threat.
11Alive SkyTracker flew over the school and spotted a police cruiser on campus.
A student sent 11Alive a second alert sent to the student body that asked them to return to residence halls and to shelter in place. Spelman tweeted a statement that said the campus was on lockdown for hours while officials conducted a sweep of the campus.
"Classes are canceled for today and the campus is closed to visitors," Spelman said.
Some students on social media said this is at least the third threat the school has received this semester. The school said on Feb. 1 it was one of several historically Black colleges and universities to receive a threat. And last month, Spelman also received a threat when multiple HBCUs across the country again had reports of similar actions.
Congresswoman Lucy McBath released a statement, saying the threats "seek to intimidate," but won't be successful.
“Throughout history, we have seen threats aimed at Black men and women in their homes, at Black students in our classrooms, and at Black children on the playground,” McBath said. “These threats seek to intimidate and terrorize, but they will not succeed. All of us, HBCU students, alumni, and families, will continue to better ourselves through education and enlightenment, and these hateful threats will not oppress our drive towards excellence.”
Just last week, the FBI announced it had identified six persons of interest in threats made to HBCUs. The agency said six juveniles are part of their investigation, according to reporting from NBC News. The outlet reported a law enforcement official said the six "tech savvy" juveniles are persons of interest in the case and are suspected of making the threats.