WWU extends Viking Union closure due to threatening emails through Wednesday
Wednesday afternoon update is here.
An investigation into threatening emails has forced Western Washington University to extend the closure of the Viking Union complex into a second day.
The school announced that the Viking Union would be closed Wednesday, Feb. 23, in an alert sent Tuesday evening.
“Although there has been no immediate threat found to the VU or any other campus building, out of an abundance of caution the VU complex will remain closed through Wednesday, Feb. 23 while the investigation into the threatening email continues,” read the alert, which was sent at 6:27 p.m.
According to another alert sent at 4:13 p.m. Tuesday, the threat involved a firearm and mentioned the Viking Union Dining Hall. No other buildings on campus were threatened, according to the alert.
The school said Wednesday in an email to The Bellingham Herald that it is continuing to work with local law enforcement to investigate the threatening email.
The school first announced the closure of the Viking Union in an alert delivered shortly after 12:30 p.m. Tuesday.
“The Viking Union and Viking Commons are closed until further notice due to a safety threat received Tuesday morning. Western Washington University received an email Tuesday from an unknown person threatening the Viking Union Dining Hall,” the first alert read.
The alert went on to advise everyone to leave the area near the Viking Union immediately and to stay away until further notice.
“University Police are investigating the email, collaborating with local law enforcement,” the alert read.
A second alert sent shortly before 2 p.m. said that the threat was sent to at least two WWU addresses and asked for help to see if more threats were sent out.
“The message from an unknown person made threats against the Viking Union Dining Hall and was sent to general email in-boxes of at least two WWU departments. One was found in the ‘spam’ folder,” the second alert read.
“Please check your email in-boxes and forward any threatening messages to university.police@wwu.edu.”
While the investigation continues, the Viking Union will remain closed, the second alert stated.
While the Viking Union is closed, students can be served at the university’s two other dining halls, Tuesday evening’s alert stated.
This story was originally published February 23, 2022 at 8:06 AM.
