A bomb threat, later revealed to be an inside joke between a student and a professor, occurred Wednesday evening at the University of Wisconsin-Stout.
Police and Fire Department personnel arrived at a UW-Stout building complex to explore what was described as a “suspicious item” inside of the building complex, but was later found to be a misunderstanding between student Josiah H. Johnson and a chemistry professor, who told UW-Stout he wished to remain anonymous.
Another student mistakenly walked in on the note, written on a whiteboard, and interpreted it as a potential bomb threat, the nature of which was not released by UW-Stout.
After the message referencing a bomb had been discovered, a report was filed to the police and the building complex was evacuated. All students and faculty in the immediate area were told to leave the general area around 6 p.m. and the complex was reopened at approximately 8 p.m.
UW-Stout Dean of Students Joan Thomas said the “bomb threat,” which led to mass confusion and scare, was in fact not a threat at all.
The university released a statement to the public on Thursday clearing up the misunderstanding.
Thomas said after finding out there was not an issue in campus safety she was not worried about the event.
“Yes, it did raise a bit of concern, but after investigating what actually happened, it was found that there was a misconception about what was assumed to be a threat. We are not viewing this as a threat and are not taking any more action against a threat,” Thomas said.
Johnson was charged with disorderly conduct, but said the note he had written was meant to be a joke for a chemistry professor to read, according to UW-Stout spokesperson Jerry Poling.
“As far as the university goes, everything has been taken care of and the situation has worked itself out. Any further action will be dealt with by the police or otherwise elsewhere outside of UW-Stout,” Poling said.
Poling said Johnson was very cooperative and apologetic when apprehended and said his note was not meant to be a threat in any way.
