Ohio University Zanesville and Zane State campus bomb threat one of dozens across Ohio

ZANESVILLE — The Ohio University Zanesville and Zane State campus was part of a wave of bomb threats that swept across the state on Tuesday, close to 60, said Muskingum County Sheriff Matt Lutz.

The MCSO, Zanesville Police Department and Zanesville Fire Department responded to campus after a bomb threat was called in to the ZPD dispatch center shortly before 2 p.m. Tuesday. Conner Counterman, an OUZ nursing student, said his class was instructed to leave Elson Hall at about 2 p.m., first to a different location and then off campus.

Lutz said Elson Hall was being searched by his office's explosives dog, with a second K-9 unit in route from Columbus to help. Meanwhile, his office was attempting to trace the call the threat was made from to see if they could locate the source.

If the MCSO is able to find out who made the calls, felony charges are possible, Lutz said.

In a statement from Carly Leatherwood, Associate Vice President of Communications at Ohio University, said there was no credible threat to campus following the threat, and law enforcement left the scene at about 4 pm. "The safety and wellbeing of our campus community remains our top priority and our response was aimed at sharing information as transparently as possible while also avoiding the potential for unnecessary panic. The matter remains under investigation at this time," she said.

ccrook@gannett.com

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This article originally appeared on Zanesville Times Recorder: OUZ bomb threat one of dozens across Ohio