Texas, North Dakota universities reopen after threat

AUSTIN (KABC) -- University of Texas and North Dakota State University have reopened after two separate bomb threats Friday prompted an evacuation at both campuses.

University of Texas Director of Communications Rhonda Weldon said the school received a call at 8:35 a.m. CT from a man who claimed he had placed bombs all over the campus that would go off in 90 minutes. The man also claimed to be associated with al Qaeda.

All campus buildings were cleared out by 9:50 a.m. CT as a precaution. Officials said no bombs were found.

The school posted a message on its Twitter account at about 10:45 a.m. CT saying the threat's time window had passed and all buildings were cleared.

Another message followed shortly after, saying that all activities except classes would resume at 5 p.m. CT and that people can re-enter buildings at noon. Classes were canceled for the day.

North Dakota State University also ordered a campus evacuation Friday morning after receiving a bomb threat. An alert was issued shortly before 10 a.m. local time, telling students and employees to leave campus within a half-hour.

The evacuation order has been lifted, and the university says it will reopen campus at 1 p.m. CDT. Classes resume at 2 p.m.

Valparaiso University in Indiana issued an alert on its website about a threat made through a graffiti message. The unspecified threat alluded to dangerous and criminal activity that may occur on Friday during the chapel break around 11:15 a.m. CT. The university is affiliated with the Lutheran church. ABC News reports that authorities aided by dogs searched the Valparaiso campus and found nothing suspicious.

It was not immediately clear if the three incidents were related.

The Associated Press and ABC News contributed to this report.

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