OSU Bomb Threat

OSU Bomb Threat: FBI spokesman Michael Brooks in Cincinnati said a threat was sent to the bureau's Washington headquarters. The FBI Columbus bureau alerted campus police about the threats at about 8:19 a.m.

Campus police issued the alert for McPherson Chemical Lab, 140 W. 18th Ave.; Scott Laboratory, 201 W. 19th Ave.; Smith Laboratory, 74 W 18th Ave. and The William Oxley Thompson Memorial Library, 1858 Neil Ave. Mall.

The OSU Department of Public Safety said it issued a Buckeye Alert at 8:41 a.m. Tuesday to almost 32,000 subscribers. NBC 4 received its Buckeye Alert shortly before 9 a.m. Tuesday.

The four buildings mentioned in the alert were closed and/or evacuated, according to Jym Lynch, director of media relations with Ohio State.

Students, faculty and staff were asked to avoid the buildings and area.

During an 11 a.m. news conference, OSU Public Safety officials said nothing has turned up in the investigation of bomb threats but that searching, which included the use of bomb-sniffing K-9s, would continue.

"We take any kind of threats of this nature very seriously, and we respond with appropriate protocols which is assessment, we did the evacuation, we secured the buildings and we are conducting a search and will continue to investigate the nature of the threat,” OSU Police Chief Paul Denton said during the 11 a.m. news conference.

Columbus police and fire departments; the Ohio State Highway Patrol and several federal agencies, including the Joint Terrorism Task Force, were on the scene, helping with the investigation.

Classes and activities in those buildings were canceled until at least 5 p.m. Tuesday. All other classes and campus activities were continuing as usual.

The university said it was e-mailing students and faculty with classes in those buildings about the cancelations.

The following streets were closed during the investigation: Neil Avenue, north of 12th Avenue; 17th Avenue, between Tuttle Park Place and College Road; 18th Avenue between Neil Avenue and College Road and 19th Avenue between Neil Avenue and College Road.

The street closings were expected to continue until at least 5 p.m. Tuesday.

The East Residential, North Express and Buckeye Village Campus Area Bus Service routes were not servicing bus stops along 17th, 18th, and 19th avenues due to restrictions in the area. The bus stops included University Hall, 17th Avenue and College Road, Physics Research, and Neil and 17th avenues. Riders can utilize the RPAC, Arps/Stillman, North Dorms and Knowlton/Fisher College bus stops.