University Star

Austin Beavers, Staff Photographer

Evacuations were issued for the Office of Undergraduate Admissions along with Tower and San Jacinto Halls. Austin Bomb Squad performed a sweep of the admissions building and did not find anything unusual. 

UPDATED: No suspect behind this morning’s bomb threat has been identified, but authorities are looking into several leads, officials say.

An admissions counselor who works from her home in Houston was sent the bomb threat via email at 7:21 am.  The admissions counselor alerted her supervisors of the threat when she read the email around 8:30 a.m., according to Mark Hendricks, director of University News Service. She forwarded the email to her supervisor at 8:36 a.m. and the University Police Department was alerted at approximately 8:50 a.m. Police are still investigating the source of the email, Hendricks said.

An emergency message was sent to students, faculty and staff by email and text at about 9:40 a.m. alerting them of the bomb threat at the Office of Undergraduate Admissions. Classes were uninterrupted.

UPD, along with Austin Bomb Squad, the FBI and local law enforcement evacuated the admissions building at approximately 10 a.m. Roads near the area were closed by the San Marcos Police Department.

Neighboring buildings in an 800-foot radius of the admissions building, including San Jacinto Hall and Tower Hall, were also evacuated. The dorms house 900 students total.

UPD Capt. Daniel Benitez said Austin Bomb Squad found nothing out of the ordinary after doing a complete sweep of the admissions building. The threat was ended at 12 p.m., and all halls and buildings except for the admissions were reopened. The admissions building will be closed for the rest of the day, Benitez said.

Jayme Blaschke, public information specialist for University News Service, said there are “no clearly identified suspects” at the moment, but the investigation is ongoing, and Texas State is working in cooperation with the FBI.

There is no indication that the admissions counselor who received the email was specifically targeted in any way, Blaschke said.

“We take the safety of our students very very seriously, and we’re going to continue with the investigation until its come to a conclusion,” Blaschke said.

The Campus Loop and Wonder World Dr. bus routes were affected by the road closures, according to Linda Sterling of Transportation Services. Campus Loop and Wonder World buses are picking up students at Joann Cole Mitte. The Wonder World buses are now dropping students off at The Quad bus loop.

Gumby’s Pizza on Guadalupe Street and University Drive was closed and evacuated at about 10:30 a.m. due to the bomb threat, said Adam Higdon, Gumby’s general manager. The restaurant was not open at the time, so no customers were present.

Texas State Spokesman on Bomb Threats

-Caitlin Clark, Kolten Parker, Taylor Tompkins, Natalie Berko and Megan Carthel contributed to this report.