Contact: Joe Farris
Mississippi State University Police have arrested three students in connection with a vaguely worded threat that resulted in the evacuation of Allen Hall for more than an hour during the early afternoon of Wednesday, Oct. 25.
A phone call to a university office earlier in the day suggested that "something bad" would happen at Allen Hall, and three individuals were later taken into custody after warning people not to enter the building. Allen Hall was emptied at about 2 p.m. Wednesday while fire department personnel conducted a search, which revealed nothing.
The students are to appear in Oktibbeha County Justice Court on misdemeanor charges of disturbing the peace of a business, and will face student judicial proceedings on campus. The university does not typically release the names of students involved in campus disciplinary proceedings, said Dean of Students Mike White.
"This incident appears to be purely a hoax, but we take very seriously any threat to the safety of the campus, particularly during this time of heightened tensions and concerns about terrorism," White said. Some of the allegations of danger to Allen Hall related the threat to recent acts of terrorism.