Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Bomb Threat Prompts Healy Hall Evacuation

ALEXANDER BROWN/THE HOYA Descendants are asking the university to collaborate with them, after University President John J. DeGioia announced a series of efforts by the university to reconcile Georgetown’s history with slavery on Sept. 2, including offering an admissions advantage to the descendants similar to that of legacy students.
FILE PHOTO: ALEXANDER BROWN/THE HOYA

A non-specific bomb threat prompted the university to evacuate Healy Hall on Friday morning, according to a Metropolitan Police Department spokesperson.

Healy Hall was reopened by 11:21 a.m. after police swept the building without finding any explosives. MPD is coordinating with the Georgetown University Police Department to investigate the threat, GUPD Chief Jay Gruber said.

Officers from both departments are maintaining a heightened presence in the area Friday afternoon “out of an abundance of caution,” according to a public safety alert.

Students first noticed a heavy police presence outside the front gates after 10 a.m. Police closed 37th Street to traffic for about an hour as canine units cleared the building, according to student accounts.

Bomb threats at the university are rare, but not new. The Leavey Center was evacuated in March 2014 after an anonymous phone call claiming a bomb placed in the bookstore was set to explode. GUPD and MPD also responded to two separate bomb threats in 2005, and another threat in 2004 sparked a massive search of all 268 public, private and charter schools in Washington, D.C. In each case, explosives ultimately were not found.

This is a developing story. This post will be updated as more information becomes available.

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