Oklahoma University evacuated over anti-Israel bomb scare

Oklahoma University was evacuated on Friday afternoon following the identification of a suspicious package tagged alongside an anti-Israel message, according to local media reports. 

The evacuation was canceled hours later as the university’s police department sent out the message, "The area near Gaylord Hall has been deemed safe, and there is no threat to campus. The alert is canceled."

OU Daily confirmed that their reporters observed the Hazardous Devices Unit approach the package without any protective gear or a robot.

The message outside Gaylord Hall read, "Ignore this like you do genocide. 28,000 and counting. Silence is complicity."

#BREAKING: Evacuations Underway at University of Oklahoma's Gaylord Hall Over Suspicious Package with Message ignore this like you do genocide⁰#Norman | #Oklahoma ⁰⁰Currently, a significant emergency response, including the bomb squad and various authorities, is present… pic.twitter.com/cYpufWgFE8

— R A W S A L E R T S (@rawsalerts) February 16, 2024

The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry claimed on Friday that 28,663 Palestinians had been killed since Hamas launched its catastrophic terror attack on Oct. 7, killing over 1200 people. The number of casualties listed by the Hamas health ministry has not been independently verified and has been heavily scrutinized by Israeli public officials. Additionally, Hamas does not differentiate between civilians and combatants when publishing casualty figures.

Gaylord Hall is home to the university’s College of Journalism and Mass Communications. No official has commented on why this location was chosen for the package.

The university's response to the threat

In an online statement, the university published that “On Friday, Feb. 16, OUPD received a call concerning a suspicious package placed near a statue near Gaylord Hall. OUPD dispatched officers to examine the package and called in the Norman Police Department. Investigators found no explosive devices inside the package and deemed the area safe. 

“OUPD took steps to ensure the OU community was safe and would like to thank the Norman Police Department for their assistance. The University of Oklahoma takes all threats to the safety of our campus community seriously.”