A false bomb threat caused parts of Tulane and Loyola to be evacuated, Tulane classes to be cancelled, and initiated an FBI investigation last Friday, Sept. 9.

Tulane received a call a little after 10 a.m. from an anonymous caller who said there was a bomb in Richardson Memorial Hall, said Mike Strecker, Tulane’s public relations director.

“The university immediately activated emergency protocol,” Strecker said.

The Tulane University Police Department, which was the first to respond to the bomb threat, evacuated Richardson Memorial Hall, which houses the architecture school, Strecker said. The university cancelled classes, notified authorities, and sent emergency response messages via emails, texts, phone calls and even tweets to students, faculty and staff.

Loyola activated its emergency protocol immediately after officials read one of Tulane’s Twitter messages regarding the bomb threat, said Meredith Hartley, Loyola’s director of Public Affairs.

Loyola closed West Road and the West Road Parking Garage and evacuated Stallings Hall due to their proximity to Richardson Memorial Hall.

After emergency protocol was activated, a bomb squad searched the outside and inside of the building. At 1:30 p.m., the bomb threat was determined false after the bomb squad found no evidence of a bomb.

Both universities reopened all facilities that were closed once the bomb threat was cleared.

According to Strecker, the FBI is currently investigating the bomb threat.

The universities “work very closely to alert each other with a threat,” Hartley said.

According to Hartley, the public affairs departments of the area universities meet to discuss their crisis management plans for situations like these to ensure that all students, faculty and staff are kept safe.

Jamie Futral can be reached at [email protected]