Overview:

• At least eight other historically Black colleges reported threats on Thursday

• The university will not publicly share what was said in the threatening email

Fayetteville State University was one of a number of historically Black colleges and universities around the country that were threatened on Thursday.

While Fayetteville State did not shut down or cancel activities, at least eight other campuses in five states did, The New York Times reported.

“We did receive a threat similar to what some other HBCUs have, but it wasn’t deemed credible,” FSU Associate Vice Chancellor Chuck McKinnon told CityView.

The university is not going to publicly share exactly what was said in the threat, which was sent in an email.

It was “not really specific,” McKinnon said. He described it as “‘we’re in danger,’ sort of messaging, but it didn’t really make a lot of sense.”

Thursday’s threats to college campuses came a day after an act of violence on a college campus rocked the nation: The shooting death of prominent right-wing political activist Charlie Kirk.

The threat did not say whether it was made in relation to Kirk’s homicide, McKinnon said.

“It was kind of ambiguous, you know, just kind of a blanket statement,” he said. “So you don’t really know what it was tied to.”

The university issued an email about 12:39 p.m. Thursday to alert students, faculty and staff of the threat.

“Fayetteville State University has received a threat, which the Department of Police and Public Safety is actively investigating in coordination with the Fayetteville Police Department and State and Federal partners,” the university said. “The campus remains open, and operations will continue as usual until further notice. FSU Police will continue to monitor this threat and keep you updated. Please remain vigilant and report any suspicious activity.”

At 3:29 p.m., a follow-up email was issued.

“After consulting with Fayetteville State University Department of Police and Public Safety, local, state, and federal partners, it has been determined there is no viable threat to the campus at this time,” it said. “Fayetteville State University will continue to maintain normal operations and strongly encourage all members of the campus community to remain vigilant and alert.”

This isn’t the first time Fayetteville State has received a threat. The school shut down one day in February 2022 when someone made a bomb threat.

Fayetteville State University following a bomb threat that led to a campus evacuation on February 16, 2022. Credit: Tony Wooten / CityView

At least 57 HBCUs received bomb threats in early 2022, CNN reported. The FBI launched a hate crime investigation and charged a minor with making most of the threats.

In response to the incident, FSU later received an $80,000 federal grant for “trauma recovery, mental health support, and increasing security,” WUNC radio reported.

Senior reporter Paul Woolverton can be reached at pwoolverton@cityviewnc.com.

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Paul Woolverton is CityView's senior reporter, covering courts, local politics, and Cumberland County affairs. He joined CityView from The Fayetteville Observer, where he worked for more than 30 years.