Documents obtained through an open records request shed some light on the Jan. 31 bomb threat that prompted a limited evacuation at Augusta University’s Summerville Campus but no campus warning for five hours.
Police were looking for suspects in a small group of students absent from a scheduled test in Science Hall that day. As of Thursday, no charges had been filed or arrest made.
According to an AU Police Department incident report, at approximately 1:15 p.m., someone using a first-floor women’s restroom reported a message had been scrawled on a stall wall.
The message said: “3 big BOOM at 1 p.m.-3 p.m.”
It then identified two second-floor rooms by number. One was a lab classroom and the other was a faculty member’s office.
“Today – Lower Cost 4 School,” it concluded.
A computer-aided dispatch, or CAD, report reveals more about the police response.
The first officer on the scene, Samantha Desjardins, arrived within eight minutes, but the two others she waited on for guidance did not arrive until 1:52 p.m. Checking rooms for threats is first mentioned at 1:54 p.m. in the CAD report.
‘We have a report of a bomb’
A 2 p.m. voicemail indicates some confusion about the incident. A call from John Sutherland, dean of science and math, was transferred to the voicemail of police Capt. Eric “Harry” Smith.
“We have a report of a bomb. I called Chief (James) Lyon and was told to be transferred to Capt. Smith. Apparently, you are not in your office,” Sutherland said on the recording.
The incident report said at some point while officers were checking rooms, an administrative assistant was able to reach Richard Griner, chairman of the biology department.
With police Lt. Paul Sharpton listening on speakerphone, Griner said to clear Science Hall and cancel classes there for the rest of the day, it said.
In the CAD report, officers both completed a sweep of the second-floor and notified facilities management about removing the bathroom message at 2:22 p.m. One remaining faculty member was discovered on the third floor a few minutes later.
In a 6 p.m. shift report, Smith wrote that responding officers had found all rooms to be locked, including two with students in them.
“The class was not interrupted,” but then, Griner “elected to have staff and students end business for the day,” it said.
In addition, six students had unexcused absences for an exam scheduled at the time in a room near the restroom, the report said.
Handling a ‘code grey’
No JAG Alert, the kind university police sent Jan. 25 warning of an unfounded “incident” near the downtown AU campus, ever went out. Police sent a campus news release about the Jan. 31 threat at 6:12 p.m.
The university’s emergency operations plan offers some clarity on handling a “code grey,” or bomb threat.
The plan classifies as a Level 3 threat any potential or actual incident that would negatively impact an entire building. This activates the emergency operations plan to the extent needed.
Central to the plan is having an incident commander. This person determines the threat level and if it’s a police matter, is typically the police chief or a police designee.
The plan says police are primarily responsible for making the decision to evacuate but may consult with administration about it. A good way to evacuate a building is to pull the fire alarm, it says.
Under the incident commander, a building coordinator assigned to each building serves as a liaison with occupants during the incident, according to the plan. The building coordinator assigned to Science Hall, according to a university list, is Jason Gribek, who is also assigned to other buildings.
A ‘big question’
Summarizing the bomb threat to university leadership, Smith said it gave rise to a “big question” about how it should be handled, which is “at what point will we (AUPD) direct/order an evacuation of a building after receiving a threat?”
Smith said in the Jan. 31 incident, officers quickly determined there was no threat, and that officers “will coordinate with building managers/leaders to give them our best information and options regarding the decision to evacuate.”
If a suspicious device were located, “we will order an evacuation and summon additional resources,” Smith said.
The Richmond County Sheriff’s Office was not called to the incident, nor did it respond.
Corp. Bruce Williams, bomb squad commander for the sheriff’s Special Operations Division, said his agency often does not respond to bomb threats. The bomb squad serves a 16-county area with a team of six deputies, a bomb-sniffing canine and two bomb disposal robots.
Employers, such as manufacturers, don’t want to lose working hours, although the incidents may still be investigated, Williams said.
“It’s usually dependent on the location or business or office and whether they want a response,” he said. “It’s up to them if they want to evacuate or do a search.”
Susan McCord is a staff writer with The Augusta Press. Reach her at susan@theaugustapress.com
