On Feb. 26, 5X社区 notified the Kent Campus community about an unverified threat at Kent Hall that was deemed to be not credible. Kent State is not alone. Schools and institutions across the country have been receiving false threats. Recently, unsubstantiated threats were received by Cornell University, Dartmouth College, Northern Illinois University, the University of Pennsylvania and many others.
The Chronicle of Higher Education reported in an that the number of bomb threats against higher education institutions spiked in 2022, a roughly 450% increase compared to the year before.
鈥淥ur department is an active collaborator with state and federal intelligence centers,鈥 said Chris Jenkins, assistant chief of police at Kent State. 鈥淲e are able to assess threats of this nature with our partners and often learn other institutions have received the same or similar threats, which lessens the credibility.鈥
Each threat received by Kent State Police is thoroughly assessed and investigated. In addition to the intelligence centers, university police enlist the assistance of other state and federal law enforcement partners, if necessary.
鈥淭he instances of institutions of higher education receiving threatening communications have experienced an increase in frequency, and we expect this pattern to continue,鈥 Jenkins said.
鈥淭he safety of our community is the top priority of Kent State Police Services,鈥 he added. 鈥淲e encourage all of our community members to contact the university police department with any suspicious or concerning communications.鈥
To contact Kent State Police, call 330-672-2212 or send an anonymous message through the .