LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A Western Kentucky University (WKU) student has been arrested after she admitted to police that she had sent in a fake bomb threat on campus.
On Wednesday, authorities were responding to a possible explosive device that was discovered on near Cherry Hall. Nearby buildings were evacuated and classes were postponed while police investigated.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) determined the material was construction related and posed no threat to the community. However shortly after that, police sent another alert stating there was a new bomb threat to Parking Structure 2 (PS2).
According to the WKU Police Department, authorities received an email from a professor stating someone had made an anonymous bomb threat on the campus.
The message originated from Yik Yak, an anonymous chat app, and read: "next bomb will be in ps2. y'all prepare yourselves."
After searching the parking structure, police found no evidence of a bomb.
WKU Police say around noon, Hailee Reed, a student at the university, called the department's dispatch saying she was the person who posted the anonymous threat.
Officers then interviewed Reed at the WKU Police Department.
She told police that she made the threat as "a joke." Reed said she knew she made a terrible decision and never meant to cause this much trouble.
Officers said Reed allowed them to take a screenshot of her phone with the originating threat on the screen.
She was then arrested and booked at the Warren County Detention Center.
Reed is charged with terroristic threatening and is being held on a $6,000 bond. Her arraignment is scheduled for Oct. 10.
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