Students were evacuated from the three buildings in response to the threat.

At around 2:30 pm on Sunday afternoon, students received reports of a bomb threat at Carman and Lerner Halls from Columbia Public Safety and Barnard CARES, leading to the evacuation of the two buildings. Roughly 45 minutes later, students received communications (through both email and text) that Butler Hall was being evacuated as well.

A Twitter user, whose account has since been suspended, under the handle Jia Nakamura posted two Tweets at 1:57 pm and 2:00 pm, respectively, delivering the threats: 

Police were spotted around the area and told Bwog that they were unable to give any more information. The NYPD Press line also could not provide Bwog with any more information. Public Safety was later seen closing the campus gates by Furnald and Lerner Halls. College walk is still open for foot traffic at the time of writing.

A similar incident was reported at Cornell University today, resulting in similar evacuations, as seen in this tweet from the official Cornell account. 

This is a developing story that will be updated.

Text sent to Columbia students from Public Safety on Sunday, November 7 at 2:27 pm:

Due to bomb threats at Carman & Lerner Halls, those buildings are being evacuated.  Please avoid both until further notice. Thank you.

Text sent to Barnard students from CARES on Sunday, November 7 at 2:44 pm:

Barnard CARES Notification: Please avoid the Morningside Columbia main campus. CU Public Safety is evacuating buildings. CUPS notification: Due to bomb threats at Carman & Lerner Halls, those buildings are being evacuated.  Please avoid both until further notice.  Thank you.

Text sent to Columbia Students from Public Safety on Sunday, November 7 at 3:21 pm:

Today is Commencement Day. Campus access impacted at all entry points. Earl Gate to be temporarily closed during candidate procession. Details at columbia.edu

Text sent to Columbia students from Public Safety on Sunday, November 7 at 3:23 pm:

​​Butler Hall (NOT Butler Library) is also being evacuated as a precaution.  Updates to follow.

Text sent to Barnard students from CARES on Sunday, November 7 at 3:24 pm:

Barnard CARES Notification:

Additional precautionary evacuation during ongoing investigation. Avoid Lerner, Carman and Butler Halls at this time.  Update from Columbia PS: Butler Hall (not Butler Library) is also being evacuated as a precaution. Updates to follow.

Update on November 7 at 4:24 pm:

Columbia University sent a statement from their Twitter account @Columbia telling people to stay away from campus until further notice. The tweet can be read below.

Update on November 7 at 4:50 pm:

The investigation has been completed and campus is now returning to usual occupancy, according to the following text sent from Public Safety to students at 4:44 pm and Barnard CARES at 4:49 pm.

The police has completed its investigation. Lerner Hall, Butler Hall and Carman Hall have all been swept and cleared by the NYPD and are now being reoccupied

Barnard CARES Notification: All clear received from Columbia.
From CU Public Safety: The police has completed its investigation. Lerner Hall, Butler Hall and Carman Hall have all been swept and cleared by the NYPD and are now being reoccupied

Update on November 7 at 4:54 pm:

Public Safety sent out a final email to the Columbia community confirming campus is all clear. The full email can be found below.

Update on November 7 at 5:09 pm:

Bwog received the following statement from a Columbia University spokesperson:

On Sunday, November 7, at approximately 2:30 p.m., Columbia University Public Safety issued a campus-wide emergency alert after receiving bomb threats involving several University buildings, similar to threats that have been made at other colleges around the country in recent days. The University proceeded with an immediate evacuation of the buildings identified in the threat. Following an investigation, the threats were deemed not credible by the NYPD and the campus buildings have been cleared for reoccupancy. We thank those individuals affected for their patience and cooperation in evacuating.

Update on November 7 at 9:44 pm:

Deans Valentini and Chang emailed the Columbia community addressing the event. In the email, they summarized what happened, linked resources to campus mental health services, and reminded the student body to enable text message alerts. They concluded by informing students that professors have been asked to “extend greater patience in coming days.” The full text of the message can be found below.

Update on November 9 at 11:48 am:

Dean Grinage emailed Barnard students addressing the threats to Columbia. In the message, she acknowledged the findings of the NYPD’s investigation, reminded students of the resources available to them (particularly BC’s mental health services and academic support through the Dean’s Office), and provided information about the Campus Alert System. Dean Grinage concluded the email by asking students to “take care of yourself and each other.” The full text of the message can be found below.

Full statements:

Message from public safety:

To the Columbia Community:

On Sunday, November 7, at approximately 2:30 p.m., Columbia University Public Safety issued a campus-wide emergency alert after receiving bomb threats involving several University buildings, similar to threats that have been made at other colleges around the country in recent days. The University proceeded with an immediate evacuation of the buildings identified in the threat. Following an investigation, the threats were deemed not credible by the NYPD and the campus buildings have been cleared for occupancy. We thank those individuals affected for their patience and cooperation in evacuating.

All the best,

Jim McShane

James F. McShane 
Vice President for Public Safety 
Columbia University 
Low Library, Rm. 101 
Mail Code 4301 
535 W. 116th Street 
New York, New York 10027 
212-854-6792

Message from the Deans:

Dear Students,
As you may be aware, Columbia Public Safety issued a campus-wide emergency alert earlier this afternoon, after receiving bomb threats to several University buildings — including Carman, Butler, and Lerner Halls. Similar threats were made at other colleges during the past several days. Students’ swift evacuation during this emergency was critical for the NYPD and Public Safety to determine that the threat was not credible.

We recognize how stressful and worrisome today must have felt for all of our undergraduates. Columbia has a wealth of resources that you may find helpful after this difficult day; we encourage you to take advantage of them. They include: Counseling and Psychological Services available 24/7 at 212-854-2878, Nightline Peer Listening, general wellbeing resources on the Live Well | Learn Well website, and, for those of you living on-campus, your Resident Adviser. Students can also contact their advising dean in the Berick Center for Student Advising for additional assistance during office hours.

This afternoon’s emergency is an important reminder that you should sign up for emergency text-message alerts, if you have not yet done so. Follow these instructions to receive real-time notifications of emergency situations on or near campus.

Thankfully, today’s threat was deemed not credible and all campus buildings have safely reopened. Yet, we recognize that any feelings of distress you may feel are real. Faculty have been asked to extend greater patience in coming days, as needed. Those on-campus who need additional support this evening can reach the Residential Life Hall Director on-call through your RA, the RA on-duty or Public Safety.

Sincerely,
Dean Valentini
Interim Dean Chang

Message from Dean Grinage:

Dear Students,

I am writing to touch base following the bomb threats made to Columbia’s campus and evacuation of certain buildings this weekend. 

While the New York City Police Department conducted an investigation and deemed the threats not to be credible, we know that any threat of violence, especially in our community can be incredibly distressing. Please know that we are here to offer support. The Furman Counseling Center is available for you to speak 1:1 with a counselor and the Deans’ Office can offer academic support as needed.

In situations like the one this weekend, the College will be in touch via our Campus Alert System. If you have any questions about the CARES notification process, how to make sure the College has the correct phone number at which to send text notifications or how to sign up for additional notifications through the Columbia Public Safety Alert System, please refer to the information about the Campus Alert System.

Please take care of yourself and each other and if you have any questions or concerns, please email deanofthecollege@barnard.edu.

Sincerely,

Dean Grinage

Images via Bwog Staff