Campuses on edge after threats are found

February 27, 2008 11:22 PM Email| Comments (0)| Text size – +

By Megan Woolhouse, Globe Staff, and Jillian Jorgensen, Globe Correspondent

Officials are beefing up security after a series of threatening notes were found in bathrooms on the campuses of Bridgewater State College, University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and Framingham State College.

Bridgewater State officials have added police patrols on campus after finding several notes. Two were found today, including one threatening the life of college president Dana Mohler-Faria. Yesterday, four other messages containing the words "murder" and "death" were found.

At UMass-Amherst, police presence was increased today after a janitor found a message threatening violence.

At Framingham State, officials evacuated a campus building today after a student found a note that mentioned a bomb, weapons, and "leap year." This year is a leap year, in which an extra day is added to the calendar, Friday, Feb. 29.

None of the schools disclosed the full contents of the messages, citing security concerns.

A UMass-Amherst spokesman said officials weren't sure whether the incidents were linked.

"Police haven't gotten that far yet," spokesman Edward F. Blaguszewski said. "There are news reports of other incidents that might be similar, but authorities will have to decide what commonalities there are."