Wichita Falls, TX._Midwestern State University has determined that the post from a Yahoo forum was a hoax and has released the following message via Facebook.
"Dear MSU Community,
The safety of our students, faculty, and staff is a top priority for Midwestern State University.
Last night, the university was made aware of an online threat to the
campus. University Police immediately began an investigation into the
validity of the threat.
Here are the facts we have from the police investigation:
The UPD determined the threat to be a hoax.
While the UPD is in fact still investigating, it concluded that there is no imminent threat to the campus community.
The FBI was not involved in the investigation.
It appears the person whose name was initially associated with the threat is a victim of the incident himself.
Because of the significant amount of concerns being raised through
social media channels, two MSU Postmaster messages, titled MSU Safety
Advisory, were sent to the campus community. The first was to
acknowledge that the university was aware of the situation and taking
action. The second was to inform the campus community that there was no
imminent threat to the campus.
The same information was distributed through our official social media sites.
At the time of the second release, we understood the investigation to
be concluded. In fact, the investigation is still pending.
Questions have arisen as to the use of an MSU Alert message. As are the
guidelines of the university, the MSU Alert system is only used to
distribute urgent and emergency information from university officials.
Had officials at any time declared campus safety as compromised, an MSU
Alert message would have been distributed giving appropriate safety
information.
Thank you to the many who sent messages to the university through various channels to notify us of the threat.
Again, your safety is of utmost importance to this university and a matter we take seriously."
While it is being deemed a hoax, campus police continue to investigate the situation.
Original Story
Classes will resume Monday as scheduled at Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls, Texas. That's after the school received a threat of a school shooting online.
The school posted on their Facebook page around midnight that they were investigating a threat received via the Internet. It said "tomorrow (Monday) at approximately 9:30 a.m. I will be shooting everyone at Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls, Texas. I will then shoot myself. Look for me on the news, Ricardo Ruiz."
The threat was posted on a Yahoo open forum. Around an hour after receiving the threat, MSU posted on their Facebook page that no one on campus was in imminent danger and classes would resume as scheduled Monday morning. However, a representative with MSU Police tells 7NEWS the investigation is ongoing.
