CU Boulder, Front Range Community College close due to threats

Mitchell Byars, Colorado Daily, Boulder
·2 min read

Aug. 5—The University of Colorado Boulder and Front Range Community College have canceled classes lockout due to a threat made to local community colleges, which was later determined to be a hoax.

Front Range Community College, which has campuses in Longmont, Westminster and Fort Collins, tweeted campuses were placed on lockout at 8:47 a.m. Friday.

#FRCC is on lockout:

Out of an abundance of caution, the security team at FRCC has secured the perimeter at all three campuses due to a potential threat in the area. This means all of our outside doors are locked, but activity inside the buildings is proceeding as usual. [1 of 3]

— FRCC (@frccedu) August 5, 2022

The tweet said the lockouts were "in an abundance of caution... due to a potential threat in the area."

But at 12:22 p.m., officials said all three campuses were now closed for the day, while classes would meet remotely on Saturday.

Westminster police in a release said officers contacted a person of interest related to the threats, which appear to be a form of doxing.

According to the release, "At this time officers cannot validate any of the threats against the school."

Meanwhile, the Colorado Community College System tweeted at 10:14 a.m. that officials have "been made aware of a threat against several metro-area CCCS colleges," including Front Range Community College.

"We are working closely with campus security teams and law enforcement agencies to monitor the situation," the tweet read.

CCCS has been made aware of a threat against several metro-area CCCS colleges, including @ArapahoeCC, @CCAurora, @CCDedu, @frccedu, and @rrccedu.

We are working closely with campus security teams and law enforcement agencies to monitor the situation.

— Colorado Community College System (@GoCCCS) August 5, 2022

While the threat reportedly did not name the University of Colorado Boulder and officials said there was "no threat" to the campus, CU Boulder officials announced at 12:16 p.m. that all classes and activities were canceled "out of caution."

CU ALERT: Threats made to colleges in the Denver metro. NO threat to campus. Out of caution, all classes/activities are canceled. Employees should work remotely

— CU Boulder (@CUBoulder) August 5, 2022

But at 2:32 p.m, CU Boulder police tweeted that the threat was deemed not credible.

"Law enforcement has determined that the previous threat to colleges in the Denver area is a hoax," the tweet read.

However, CU Boulder said its campus would remain closed for the day, and Front Range Community College has not announced any changes to its plans to remain closed.