BELLINGHAM, Wash. — Officials at Western Washington University issued an alert today, February 22nd, about 12:30pm, advising people to evacuate the Viking Union area due to a threat received.
Western Alert: The Viking Union and Viking Commons are closed until further notice due to a safety threat received Tuesday morning. Western Washington University received an email Tuesday from an unknown person threatening the Viking Union Dining Hall.
Please leave the Viking Union area immediately and stay away until further notice.
University Police are investigating the email, collaborating with local law enforcement.
Western Washington University Alert (February 22, 2022)AdvertisementClick for more information
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Western officials issued the following second alert about 1:50pm.
WWU Police are working with local law enforcement to investigate an email threatening the Viking Union Dining Hall that was sent to at least two WWU addresses Tuesday morning. The Viking Union remains closed. Please continue to stay away from the area.
The message from an unknown person made threats against the Viking Union Dining Hall and was sent to general email in-boxes of at least two WWU departments. One was found in the “spam” folder.
Please check your email in-boxes and forward any threatening messages to university.police@wwu.edu.
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The investigation is continuing. More information will be shared when it’s available.
For mental health resources, students may contact the Counseling and Wellness Center at cwc.wwu.edu. Staff and faculty may reach out to the Employee Assistance Program at hr.wwu.edu employee-assistance-program.Western Washington University Alert (February 22, 2022)
Western officials issued the following third alert about 4:10pm.
WWU Police are working with local law enforcement to investigate a firearm threat made by email Tuesday morning that mentioned the Viking Union Dining Hall. The Viking Union remains closed. Please continue to stay away from the VU. No other campus buildings were threatened.
We don’t yet know when the VU will reopen, and we have added staff to other campus dining venues to serve students during dinner. Dinner service is also extended Tuesday night to 8:30 p.m.
University Police are working with local law enforcement to continue to investigate the threat. The same message with threatening language was sent to the general email in-boxes of two campus offices Tuesday morning. One of these messages was found in the “spam” folder. Please check your email in-boxes and forward any threatening messages to university.police@wwu.edu.
More information will be shared when it’s available.
For mental health resources, students may contact the Counseling and Wellness Center at cwc.wwu.edu. Staff and faculty may reach out to the Employee Assistance Program at hr.wwu.edu employee-assistance-program.Western Washington University Alert (February 22, 2022)AdvertisementClick for more information
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Western officials issued the following fourth alert about 6:30pm.
Although there has been no immediate threat found to the VU or any other campus building, out of an abundance of caution the VU complex will remain closed through Wednesday, Feb. 23 while the investigation into the threatening email continues.
An email with a threatening message was sent to two general WWU office email inboxes Tuesday morning referencing the Viking Union dining hall. No threat was made to any other building, individuals or groups in the email message.
Officials closed the Viking Union complex Tuesday and University Police are working with local law enforcement to investigate the source of the threats.
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The investigation continues during the closure.
While the Viking Commons is closed, students will be served at the university’s two other dining halls.
For mental health resources, students may contact the Counseling and Wellness Center at cwc.wwu.edu. Staff and faculty may reach out to the Employee Assistance Program at hr.wwu.edu/employee-assistance-program.Western Washington University Alert (February 22, 2022)
To allow law enforcement time to investigate the threatening email received on Tuesday morning, and to ensure the safety of our campus community, we have kept the Viking Union complex closed today. Based on information from the continuing investigation, we have determined that it is safe to reopen the VU Commons for essential workers this afternoon in preparation for dinner service starting at 5 p.m. The rest of the VU complex will reopen at 7 a.m. tomorrow to all community members. See more information in your WWU email.Western Washington University Alert (February 23, 2022)