California university receives second mass shooting threat in a week: 'My students are afraid and so am I'

LOS ANGELES – The day before finals at a California university, students on Tuesday called on officials to close campus after police revealed a second mass shooting threat in the last week.

Police are investigating a handwritten note threatening violence at the university and a nearby high school, both about a 30-mile drive from the site of the Thousand Oaks shooting in November.

The president of California State University, Northridge said authorities believe there is no imminent threat to campus and did not plan to close the campus Wednesday, the first day of fall semester finals. While the university has increased police patrols for the week, professors have been required to provide alternative test options for students who don't want to be on campus.

"We recognize that these threats have created an environment where students and other members of our campus community fear for their safety," CSUN President Dianne F. Harrison said in a statement.

Still, some students said the university's accommodations were not enough, with many expressing concerns on social media. By late Tuesday, more than 13,000 signed a Change.org petition to close campus.

On Twitter, students responded to the president's statement with requests to make all finals online. The stress of the threats, several said, will prevent students from focusing on finals on campus after the day of the shooting threats, too.

Harrison updated the campus Tuesday evening, announcing finals Wednesday will not be taken in person. Exams on Thursday through Dec. 18 will also be offered in alternative formats "to further ease the anxiety students are understandably experiencing."

Professors cannot penalize students for requesting accommodations, she said, as officials made the decision for student success. The campus will stay open until the end of the semester, however.

Police found the note late Monday night, less than a week after they began investigating a shooting threat written on the walls of another campus building, according to campus messages. The first threat shared with the community on Dec. 5 accompanied hateful and racist language, but did not include Northridge Academy High School as a target.

Both messages threatened a shooting on Dec. 12, the first in Sierra Hall and the second across campus. Police believe the two threats are separate, said university spokesperson Carmen Ramos Chandler.

Before the second threat was found, students and parents had already urged university administration to close campus through emails, according to a campus message on Monday. Some professors had adjusted requirements by then, too.

"Due to the multiple threats of a mass shooting on campus at California State University Northridge, I've canceled classes and moved finals online," one professor tweeted. "My students are afraid and so am I. These are scary times."

The university said it will update the campus community as new information becomes available.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: California university receives second mass shooting threat in a week: 'My students are afraid and so am I'