NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) — A credible bomb threat to Queens College and York College—both part of the City University of New York (CUNY) system—forced the campuses into lockdown on Thursday, the NYPD said.
Just before 1 p.m., a credible bomb threat was sent to both Queens College in Flushing and York College in Jamaica, police said.
Queens College sent classes remote for the rest of Thursday instruction “due to a credible threat,” CUNY said.
“All Queens College campus buildings will be closed today until further notice. If you are on campus, please immediately exit calmly through the nearest safest exit,” Queens College said in a CUNY alert circulated to the campus community. The advisory went into effect at 2:30 p.m.
It was not immediately clear if the threat sent to both colleges was the same, or sent by the same person.
Police officers from the 103rd Precinct arrived at the scene of York College, helped evacuate the campuses and did a building search for suspicious packages, officials said. Classes for the college also went remote for the rest of Thursday instruction.
According to QNS.com, Deputy Inspector Ralph Clement, the commanding officer at the 103rd Precinct, confirmed that bomb threat was sent anonymously to school officials.
“So we are taking precautions just to make sure it is not a bomb,” Clement said. “These things happen, not often, but they happen so we have to go the full route with it because God forbid it’s real.”
There have been no arrests and the investigation is ongoing.