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University Of Pittsburgh Students Alerted To Bomb Threat On Phones

POSTED: 10:32 am EDT September 28, 2007
UPDATED: 5:57 pm EDT September 28, 2007

Classes were canceled at Clapp and Langley halls on the University of Pittsburgh campus in Oakland because of a bomb threat Friday morning.

The university made one of its first uses of a new, automated system that calls cell phones to notify students and faculty about security concerns.

Campus police Chief Tim Delaney said the message was sent to more than 6,500 students and faculty, notifying them of the bomb threat.

The system flooded cell phones with more than 5,800 voice messages, more than 6,400 e-mails went out along with nearly 7,000 text messages.

The message was also posted on Pitt's Web site.

It said, "City of Pittsburgh received a bomb threat via 911 for Clapp Hall and Langley Hall. Classes are cancelled in these buildings. Please evacuate until further notice. If safe to do so please inform others of this message. (Friday, September 28, 2007)"

"The doors opened up and all the students started walking out down the sidewalk and taking a safe distance across the street," said Delaney.

Late Friday morning, police said the threat was over and classes had resumed.

"It was pretty impressive that they can notify that many people that quickly," said student Rick Fiorella.

"I was really impressed and really thrilled that the university put in a system like this," said Pitt Professor Lydia Daniels.

A Pitt spokesman said bomb-sniffing dogs were used to search for a bomb but nothing was found.

Dogs also searched the Cathedral of Learning after a vague bomb threat was found written on a bathroom wall, the spokesman said.

The building was not evacuated and nothing suspicious was found.


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