Classes have been cancelled today at the University of Chicago, including the Chicago Booth School of Business, in response to an online threat of gun violence, according to a campus emergency update issued last night.
University President Robert Zimmer said that FBI counterterrorism officials notified the school Sunday that an unknown individual had posted a threat of gun violence on the main campus quad on Monday morning at 10 a.m. “Based on the FBI’s assessment of this threat and recent tragic events at other campuses across the country, we have decided in consultation with federal and local law enforcement officials, to exercise caution by canceling all classes and activities on the Hyde Park campus through midnight on Monday,” Zimmer wrote.
Students, non-medical faculty and non-essential staff have been asked to stay away from the Hyde Park campus today or to remain indoors as much as possible if they are on campus. Students living in college dorms have been instructed to remain indoors and await direct communication from College Housing Staff.
There will be an increased police and security presence on and around campus in response to the threat, Zimmer continued. Law enforcement officials have said that the FBI is working to identify the individual who made the threat, according to a New York Times account.
The university has also closed several other campus facilities, including the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools, the University of Chicago Charter School campuses, the Quadrangle Club and the university libraries. Further updates will be posted to the University of Chicago homepage, and the school expects to resume normal operations tomorrow.
