LEONARDTOWN, Md. - The St. Mary's County Sheriff's Office on Wednesday afternoon reported that on Monday, April 16, Sheriff's Office Deputies responded to the College of Southern Maryland (CSM), Leonardtown Campus, for the report of a "Bomb Threat." Police say that a Sheriff's Office K-9, trained in locating explosives, scanned the campus and buildings "with negative results."
The threat was made in the form of writing. It was discovered by a visitor and reported to an employee. This is according to Lieutenant Daniel D. Alioto, Commander Patrol Division, St. Mary's County Sheriff's Office. The information was also confirmed by CSM's General Counsel, Stephen Goldman. Goldman also serves as the Director of the Supervisor of Public Safety for CSM.
Both Alioto and Goldman noted that the threat was not specific. "The threat was NOT a direct threat, it was more implied," noted Alioto in an E-Mail response to our inquiry. Alioto also told us that police were not releasing information to the public regarding what evidence was seized at the scene.
Goldman said that the first thing CSM personnel did upon being alerted to the threat was to contact the Sheriff's Office and send an e-mail alert to all staff advising them to initiate standard bomb threat procedures. Goldman added that additional CSM security personnel were called to the campus to assist. CSM personnel also went through the buildings and locked any unused rooms to prevent someone from hiding inside.
Somd.com received a citizen tip suggesting that faculty and students who were on the campus at the time were not alerted to the bomb threat. When asked about this claim, Goldman confirmed that students were not directly notified. He noted the e-mail alert that was sent to the staff advising them to initiate bomb threat procedures. Goldman also stressed that the written threat they found gave authorities reason to believe that danger was not imminent. The details of the threat that led to this conclusion can not be released due to the ongoing investigation.
Goldman also noted that the campus was in the process of closing due to the high winds in the area at the time. Said winds did cause numerous power outages in So. Md.
Somd.com received a bulletin via email stating that the campus was closing at 8 p.m. Monday, April 16 due to inclement weather. This notice was received at 7:25 p.m. We do not currently know what time the threat was discovered, nor do we know at what time the Sheriff's Office was contacted.
According to Goldman, the increased Sheriff's patrols of the campus that we reported upon earlier were a direct request from CSM to the Sheriff's Office. It is not known how long the extra patrols are expected to continue.