UPDATE: April 22, 2014 - 3:31 p.m.
AU Alert notified students at 10:16 a.m. of a bomb threat in Haley Center, forcing all students to temporarily evacuate the building. The threat stemmed from a call made to the Auburn Police Division at 8:33 a.m., according to APD Police Captain Lorenzo Dorsey.
APD and Auburn Fire Department were the first responders. The second responders were Auburn's Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) team, a group of volunteers that help with emergency situations.
The message in Haley Center is no longer visible.
According to APD Chief Paul Register, the call came from someone who had purpose to be in Haley Center.
Haley Center reopened and classes resumed at 2 p.m. after APD searched the building and determined it safe.
Register said officers methodically went through the building, room by room, to ensure its safety for students.
"We are investigating this incident to identify persons or people responsible," Register said. "It may take some time."
As for any correlation between this incident and the campus shutdown on Wednesday, April 16, Register said they are not ruling anything out.
"We are looking at exploring that possibility and just don't know right now," Register said.
Register said the APD have no suspects at this time, but a $10,000 reward will be offered for identification and arrest of those responsible.
"I don't think (people) realize the trouble they could be in," Register said. "People don't understand the repercussions. This is a felony and can result in serving 1-10 years in prison."
Other state and federal agencies, including the FBI, are actively investigating both cases with the APD and all groups intend to utilize all resources to identify those responsible, according to the APD.
The APD asks anyone wishing to report suspicious activity or provide any information about either of these incidents to contact the APD at 334-501-3140 or the anonymous tip line at 334-246-1391.
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UPDATE: April 22, 2014 - 12:36 p.m.
According to AU Alert, the Haley Center has reopened, and classes will resume at 2 p.m. APD have searched the building and determined it safe.
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UPDATE: April 22, 2014 - 11:30 a.m.
APD Police Captain Lorenza Dorsey said, "At 8:33 a.m. we received a call of a written bomb threat in one of the restrooms of the Haley Center. Auburn Police along with Auburn Fire responded. We are currently conducting an investigation into the threat. We have since evacuated the building and we have canines going floor-to-floor doing a complete and thorough search of the building. We anticipate reopening the building very shortly."
Dorsey did not wish to speculate on an exact time.
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UPDATE: April 22, 2014 - 10:34 a.m.
Students received a text message from AU Alert at 10:16 a.m. stating a bomb threat had been reported to the Haley Center, and that all students were to temporarily evacuate from the building. The threat was reportedly found on a message in a restroom stall
The surrounding buildings are not affected according to AU Alert. Employees have been informed to give an "all clear message" once it is safe to reenter the building.
Carter Hawkins, senior in finance and Spanish was in a Spanish commercial translation class in Haley Center room 2442 when students got the message from AU Alert.
"We were just working on a project in class and one of the girls showed the email to the professor. Another professor walked in when we got the instructions to evacuate. Everyone got up pretty quickly and left the building," Hawkins said. "I didn't think we were in immediate danger, but with this sort of thing it's better to err on the side of caution."
More updates to follow.
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