University puts all classes online amid 'mass shooting threat'
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) announced on Tuesday that it was temporarily suspending in-person learning for its entire student body. The university said that the move was made “out of an abundance of caution,” as the university worked with multiple law enforcement agencies to investigate “threats sent to some members of our community.”
Those threats allegedly came from a former philosophy lecturer and postdoctoral fellow at the university, the Los Angeles Times reported on Monday. According to the report, staff in the philosophy department pressured university management to suspend classes after receiving “specific threats” from the former lecturer.
UCPD is actively working with out-of-state & federal agencies on threats sent to some members of our community. We do not have specific information that this individual is in CA. Out of an abundance of caution, all classes will be held remotely Feb 1. We will keep you updated.
— UCLA (@UCLA) February 1, 2022
The threats involved sending staff “a video entitled ‘UCLA Philosophy Mass Shooting’ and an 800-page manifesto with specific threats towards some members of our department,” one philosophy department member wrote in an email seen by the Times.
The video in question was posted on YouTube on Sunday, but the original channel used for that post has since been suspended.
Prior to the Times’ reporting, students at UCLA had caught wind of the alleged threats and accused the university of failing to take action.
In an update posted later on Tuesday, UCLA stated that the individual believed to be behind the threats had been located outside California and was under observation by law enforcement. Nevertheless, classes will remain online for the rest of the day, the update added. Counselling services were also offered to students.
