At the start of Black History Month, 13 HBCUs received bomb threats. According to the FBI, they now have six juveniles as persons of interest.
NBC News reports that the juveniles are “tech savvy,” according to authorities. It’s also reported that the juveniles used “sophisticated methods to try to disguise the source of the threats, which appear to have a racist motivation.”
As a result of the bomb threats, almost 20 HBCUs were on lockdown. Howard University was one of the first to receive a threat, and the HBCU has been targeted three times within one month.
Other schools: Coppin State University, Mississippi Valley State University, Morgan State University, Alcorn State University, Tougaloo College, Jackson State University, Kentucky State University, Fort Valley State University, Xavier University, University of the District of Columbia, Spelman College and Edward Waters University also received bomb threats.
The investigation of the threats “is of the highest priority for the Bureau and involves more than 20 FBI field offices across the country,” an FBI official stated.
Saigan Boyd, student at Spelman College told CNN , “It was very disturbing … It made me feel as though that I am not safe,” the 19-year-old said. “It makes me realize how there are still these terrorists that are trying to stop minorities from advancing or just getting a simple education from a predominantly Black institution,” Boyd said. “I’m just ultimately tired of dealing with this level of unsolicited hatred,” she said. “I’m just tired of being terrorized like how my grandparents were.”
