James A. Rhodes State College, a two-year institution in northwestern Ohio, canceled classes and activities and shut down its campus today in response to a bomb threat. The closure also affected Ohio State University’s Lima regional campus, which shares buildings with Rhodes State College.
The college’s vice president for institutional advancement, Jacque Daley-Perrin, said the threat was received at 11:27 this morning. Within 15 minutes, officials decided to evacuate the campus. She said it took about 1 hour and 10 minutes to do so.
Ms. Daley-Perrin said the Allen County sheriff’s department and the Ohio state police were investigating the threat, with bomb-sniffing dogs exploring the inside and outside of campus buildings. She said it was not known who or what was the intended target of the threat, or who may have been its source. —Anna Weggel
Update (5:20 p.m.): The college announced an hour ago that the security alert had been lifted, and that classes would resume and offices would reopen on Thursday morning.
