The University of Wisconsin Police Department closed the Educational Sciences Building for a short period of time Monday after a staff member reported a bomb threat onsite.
UWPD Sgt. Clark Brunner said the building was emptied at about 12:15 p.m., when multiple officials searched the building.
It took less than a half-hour to determine the building was safe and people were allowed back inside.
Brunner said he was unsure how the staff member came across the threat, but the police department thoroughly checked the building for the sighting of a bomb.
“We try to determine how credible the threat is and, at minimum, we check the area to make sure there is no threat,” Brunner said. “We always try to get information from the community when we can, but we do have full-time officers do whatever evidence collection they can at the scene. If there is no physical evidence, we just try to canvas the area.”
No UW WiscAlert was issued to students following the threat.
“Generally, the police help guide decisions on use of the WiscAlert system. If they feel there is an imminent risk to the campus community … then generally they initiate those text alerts,” UW spokesperson John Lucas said.
According to Brunner, the UW police manager on call works with the Office of the Dean of Students and the chancellor’s office to determine if an alert should be sent.
While he said at first there was not enough information available to determine if there was a real threat, once the department determined the area was clear of any explosives, they made the decision immediately.
“It’s basically based on the amount of information we have, and the more information we have determines the level of credibility for the threat. The higher our awareness, the better we can make that determination,” Brunner said.
Brunner said UWPD typically responds to at least one bomb threat a year, but he could not recall the last time a serious threat was confirmed.
Lucas said while an occasional threat is probably common for a city the size of Madison, residents would be made much more aware of any danger if a trend emerges.
