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Tech email threat identical to ones received elsewhere

HOUGHTON – The threat emailed to a Michigan Technological University faculty member Monday was identical to one sent to at least four other universities around the country, Michigan Technological University Public Safety Chief Brian Cadwell said.

News reports have identified institutions of other recipients as the College of William & Mary, Virginia Tech, Sweet Briar College and North Carolina State University.

The US Department of Agriculture also received a similar threat, according to news reports.

The USDA closed six offices in five states until further notice after several employees at each location received email threats, according to the Associated Press.

Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack said in an email to staff the closure was “due to the serious nature of these threats.”

White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said the Department of Homeland Security is working with USDA “to ensure the safety of their offices and the personnel that work there,” the AP reported.

The sender said that “in the next couple of days I will break into the campus and will kill as many people as I can until the police arrives (sic),” according to the Collegiate Times, Virginia Tech’s student newspaper.

A Tech faculty member received the threat Monday afternoon. The email came from an overseas location. The country of origin has been identified, Cadwell said, but is not being named.

The recipients were associated with another university at which the Tech faculty member had worked before, Cadwell said.

The emails to Virginia Tech were sent from a variety of Gmail accounts, using names such as Robert Birdman, Jack Bauer and John Grind, according to the Collegiate Times. The sender has not been positively identified, Cadwell said.

After consultation with federal authorities, Cadwell said, Tech believes the threat to campus has been lessened. Tech Pubic Ssfety has increased patrols on campus, since the incident, Cadwell said. It has also advised local departments of the threat.

“At this time, we consider the matter to be in federal hands, especially because the incident originated offshore, and we will assist in whatever way we can,” he said.

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