LSU campus reopened after hoax bomb threat

Louisiana State University officials began reopening the Baton Rouge campus Monday night while authorities still searched buildings after a bomb threat. Students were allowed to return to their campus housing, The (Baton Rouge) Advocate reported. LSU spokesman Ernie Ballard said in an email at 6:50 p.m. local time two campus dining halls had been cleared and were opened for evening meals. He said the university's recreation center also had been found to be safe. The campus had been evacuated for several hours after the school received reports of three bombs being placed on the grounds. Despite lifting the evacuation order, LSU authorities requested people restrict their travels on campus to facilities designated as safe. Authorities were searching each of the more than 250 buildings on campus. LSU officials said it had not been determined how long it would take to finish the search of the entire grounds. LSU spokesman Herb Vincent told The Advocate the evacuation began after an unknown person made the threat in a call to the East Baton Rouge Parish emergency center about 10:30 a.m. "We hope it's a hoax, but we can't take that chance," LSU System President William Jenkins said of the decision to announce the evacuation about an hour later. The school has about 29,000 students and about 6,500 faculty and support staff. Hoax bomb threats last week emptied the campuses of the University of Texas in Austin and North Dakota State in Fargo.