Bradley students felt 'left in the dark' by messaging during bomb threat lockdown

At 7:40 p.m. Tuesday, Bradley University issued a campuswide lockdown, instructing students to lock down "immediately" and await further instructions. Bradley students, faculty and parents alike immediately began to buzz on social media, many asking the same question: What was going on?

The answer to that question would not come for some time.

One hour and six minutes after Bradley issued the lockdown, it sent out its next communication via social media, another message affirming a lockdown was in place. "There is currently a lock down across campus, and everyone should stay in place. Police will let the campus community know when it is lifted," the message said.

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Bradley University police Chief Brian Joschko said there were some technical difficulties in sending out the Twitter alerts, but said students were getting text messages from the school between social media posts keeping them apprised as to what was happening.

Yet students interviewed by the Journal Star said those texts were grossly devoid of context and information, leaving students "in the dark," "anxious," and "nervous." Bradley student Lili Garcia said students had "no idea" what was going on.

Garcia was in a chemistry lab with other students when she said the school's intercom system told students to lock down immediately because there was an intruder on campus. The first assumption among those in the room was that a shooter was on campus. Garcia and the others barricaded themselves in a room, using a refrigerator, desks and chairs to hold a door shut, while using Post-it Notes on a window to hide themselves.

"We wanted to know more but couldn't know more," Garcia said.

Minutes after the intercom system went off, around 7:40 p.m., Bradley students received a text through Bradley's foreWarn system that read the same as the first tweet that was sent out, "BU foreWarn - Lock down immediately. Wait for further instructions," according to Garcia.

Joschko said when police debrief the situation, they will review the messaging.

"The messaging that we have is a template form message that we have created so that we can send messages out quickly," Joschko said. "I think the message, given the threat, was appropriate. We will continue to review that."

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At 8:25 p.m., 45 minutes after the first text message was sent out, Bradley students received a second text message. It was exactly the same as the first; no further details were added.

At 8:46 p.m., a second tweet was sent out, which told students a lockdown was still in place.

"Those messages were simply reiterating that there was a lockdown occurring on campus and to await further instruction. It wasn't anything more complicated than that," Joschko said.

By the time the second message was sent out on social media and via text by Bradley, media members had been informed the lockdown was issued because of a bomb threat to campus and police were searching the school's Business and Engineering Convergence Center.

At the time of the second message, there were already students meandering outdoors on campus.

At 9:10 p.m., Garcia wrote a comment on Bradley's Facebook page saying, "How about we let the students know more updates we’ve been in lock down since 7:40."

At 9:14 p.m., the university's Twitter account stated: "You no longer need to shelter in place. However, stay indoors until you receive further instructions." At 9:19 p.m., students received a text saying the same thing.

At 9:55 p.m., after police had swept the building and found no explosives, the all-clear was given and students were told they could return to normal activity. Students received an all-clear text from Bradley at 10:12 p.m.

Joschko said police determine what information to release to students and the public based on "where in the course of the incident it's occurring."

"At the initial onset of the incident, those are left to the charge of the university police department. As it progresses and there's more time available, we have other individuals who are able to provide input into what those messages are," he said. "But typically what information can be released is typically directed by university police."

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At 10:30 p.m., Bradley put out a Facebook post that explained that a bomb threat had been issued and police had found nothing. Parents expressed their unhappiness with communication in the comments.

"Please work on better communication," Kristen Lindsey Cook wrote in the comments. "Some of these kids were sitting in the dark in their hallways because they had no idea where the danger was for over 3 hours. While there was a quick lockdown alert- it gave no information- which sent some spiraling. Location would have been nice to know. Once they lifted, there was no other info. And the email sent out last night did not include a message to reassure students that there would be extra security & help today."

At 11:48 p.m., Bradley issued a statement on Twitter to students that a bomb threat had been issued to the campus. "This evening, the BUPD received a bomb threat in the BECC building. After a thorough sweep, an all clear was issued. Bradley University counseling and support services will be available for impacted students," the statement read.

Bradley President Stephen Standifird released a statement on Facebook in which he said, "While this threat proved to be unfounded, we take any threat seriously and will continue to take the utmost concern for our campus safety. The events of last night resonated across campus, and we recognize any such emergency response causes anxiety, stress and fear. I want to assure you that our campus is safe."

In that message he also encouraged students who were shaken by the incident to utilize the school's counseling services. Yet even here, students say the words ring hollow as the counseling services center is "underfunded," with appointments being scarcely available, Garcia said.

Standifird said Bradley will conduct a "review of our campus emergency and communication plan."

This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Bradley students, faculty felt 'left in the dark' during lockdown