Rude awakenings were the least of students’ worries early Wednesday morning when a potential terrorist threat was made against Sam Houston State University, according to UPD officials.
A former SHSU student allegedly left a vague, yet threatening post on a social media site toward the university Tuesday night. Police were dispatched in response to a call reporting the threat. Police were promptly dispatched to look into the incident, UPD Chief Kevin Morris said.
By 3 a.m. Wednesday morning, the University Police Department had pinpointed who had left the post and where they lived. Officers arrived at the suspect’s home in Katy at 6 a.m. to speak with the 20-year-old male suspect and his parents. They cooperated with police, Morris said.
The KatSafe alert system was sent to the university community after the officers arrived at the suspect’s home. UPD Morris said that the alert was a formality to inform students and faculty that they were aware of the possible threat.
“[Officers] made the determination that he was not a danger to himself or others,” Morris said. “It was not a real threat. Probably some bad judgment on the individual’s part.”
No arrests were made, but charges of making a terroristic threat will be filed against the man alleged to have made the threat, and the case will go to Walker County’s district attorney Thursday, according to Morris.Morris refused to provide the name of the social media site in question, but the Houstonian was able to confirm that the comment was made on Facebook and then deleted.