JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Jacksonville's Edward Waters University cancelled classes and on-campus activities Tuesday due to a bomb threat and threat of violence to the campus, according to the school.
The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office was notified and was on campus for most of the day to investigate the threat, EWU says. The all-clear was given at 4 p.m.
A coalition of pastors, civic and educational leaders, addressed the public this afternoon in response to the increasing number of bomb threats at historically black colleges and universities.
The EWU threat comes one day after at least a half-dozen other HBCUs across the country also received bomb threats, including Bethune-Cookman University in Daytona Beach. That university was placed on lockdown for several hours Monday as law enforcement worked to investigate the threat, according to police.
The threat at EWU was made anonymously, according to the university. Canceled in-person activities include classes, meetings and athletic practices, which are canceled "until further notice," the university says.
According to campus security, JSO received the call at 3:25 a.m. Tuesday and alerted the campus, then conducted a sweep around 3:30. Police did another sweep at 5 a.m.
The threat was made to set an incendiary device, according to campus security.
The University of North Florida will also have an increased police presence Tuesday, the university said in an alert sent to students and staff, after a threat posted to social media. An arrest was made in relation to that threat Tuesday morning, according to an update on UNF's website just before noon, and investigators determined the threat was not related to threats made at other universities.
Other historically Black colleges and universities threatened Monday include Albany State University in Georgia, Bowie State University in Maryland and Howard University in Washington, D.C.
It is unclear whether any of the threats are connected to each other.
Earlier this month, at least eight HBCUs received similar threats, according to our Atlanta news partners 11Alive.
