UPDATE 3:43 pm: Daytona Police Chief Jakari Young gave a press conference Monday afternoon confirming the threats to BCU were made by a neo-Nazi group. “This group from what we can tell, it is a neo-Nazi organization going by the name of Atomwaffen,” Young said in the conference. “So yes, I don’t know if it’s connected to what took place in Orlando, but it does have affiliation to the neo-Nazi organization.”
Young also reported that in addition to the C4 bomb threat, an active shooting threat was placed for 30 minutes later. He drew connections to the neo-Nazi demonstrations held in Orlando Sunday afternoon.
Daytona Beach, FL - Bethune-Cookman University was under a lockdown after someone called in a bomb threat to the campus Monday morning.
And it seems the threat goes much farther than BCU. According to a report from CNN, at least five other Historically Black College & Universities (HBCU) have received bomb threats on Monday (Jan. 31). The other affected colleges include Southern University and A&M, Howard University, Albany State University, Bowie State University and Delaware State University.
The Daytona Beach Police Department confirmed earlier in the morning that the campus was locked down and made no specific statements other than a threat was made. They have since confirmed in an email that the police department is in fact investigating a bomb threat. The campus was officially given an all-clear just before 11:00 a.m.
News Daytona Beach spoke to Brandon Douglas, a student at Bethune-Cookman University, who said students have been told to stay in their dorms. They are, however, allowed to leave their dorms as long as they can provide their state ID and their student ID.
That was also confirmed in an email alert BCU staff sent out to students. It’s unclear if that directive will change since the DBPD has cleared the campus.
When asked about the general atmosphere around BCU, Douglas said a lot of students are rather calm about the situation, mostly because they’re somewhat desensitized to what’s going on with the prevalence of previous school shooting threats and bomb threats over the past couple of years.
“(The young generation) isn’t taking this as seriously,” said Douglas. “We grew up with this. We already know this is protocol and this is going to be what it’s going to be.”
This is also not the second time HBCUs were threatened in 2022. On January 5, at least three HBCUs received a bomb threat, according to CNN.
“We might not be as concerned as others are, but this is something that is concerning to those that give it deeper thought because why is this the second round of HBCUs being threatened with bombs?” Douglas said.
As of now, the DBPD says classes have been cancelled and they’re asking the public to not come onto the BCU campus unless it is necessary.
