Forestry Building Situation Summary
The Michigan State Police
bomb squad dismantled two explosive devices November 5, one outside of
the forestry building at Michigan Tech and one outside of the adjacent
U.S. Forest Service lab. No one was injured and the devices and their
content are being analyzed by the Michigan State Police crime lab and
by the FBI.
A Michigan Tech Public Safety
officer on routine patrol discovered the two devices at 3:35 a.m. on November
5. At that time, Public Safety, Houghton city police, the Houghton County
Sheriff Department, and the Houghton Fire Department evacuated a small
number of homes near the buildings. Streets in the vicinity of the buildings
were also closed.
Around 4:00 a.m., Michigan
Tech Public Safety began inspecting the exteriors of every building on
campus. Night custodians made a search of the interiors of each building
looking for suspicious items. By 6:00 a.m., all buildings had been checked,
inside and out, and deemed to be safe. As a precaution, the buildings
were re-checked by building attendants at 7:30 the same morning.
Police evacuated all persons
considered to be in harm's way. Homes along Seventh Avenue were evacuated
first. Police then went door-to-door to east Houghton homes farther from
the site to provide information, but not necessarily requiring evacuation.
The Delta Sigma Phi house and the Goodwill Farm were then evacuated as
a precaution, given their proximity to the sites.
Streets in east Houghton, including
MacInnes Drive, were closed to traffic. Commuter parking lots 32 and 26
were also closed. Police also established a 2,000-foot diameter zone in
which they wanted no radio communications to take place. Classes in the
forestry building were cancelled for November 5, but the rest of the campus
remained open.
By 8:00 a.m., the Michigan
State Police Bomb Squad arrived from Negaunee and began work on analyzing
and dismantling the devices. By 9:30 a.m., agents from the FBI and the
federal Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agency had arrived from Marquette.
Local media were informed of
the incident as early at 6:00 a.m. The university held the first of two
news conferences at 10:00 a.m., providing local media with the details
of what was known at that time. The university relations office also provided
information to students, faculty, and staff by way of an e-mail list,
the university's Web site, and the electronic display system.
By 1:00 p.m., the bomb squad
had dismantled the objects, described as large containers filled with
a flammable liquid attached to electrical devices. The university held
its second news conference at that time, providing local media with the
information. Police reopened MacInnes Drive and the streets in east Houghton,
but the buildings and parking lots remained closed.
Police and fire agencies made
a thorough search of the forestry building and the Forest Service lab,
inside and out, and found no other devices. By 4:30 p.m., the buildings
were declared safe. By 5:15 p.m., members of the media and Michigan Tech
faculty and staff were informed that classes would resume in the forestry
building on Tuesday morning.
Each student received an e-mail
message Monday evening from the Dean of Students office. Students who
did not attend class that day were granted excused absences because of
the unusual circumstances. Students with excused absences are permitted
to make up missed graded work and are not penalized for the absence.
"We owe a debt of gratitude
to the university's Public Safety department for their vigilance in discovering
these devices and for the professional manner in which they have handled
this incident," said Michigan Tech president Curt Tompkins. "All
of the law enforcement and public safety officials did a tremendous job
of bringing this threat to a safe conclusion."
Michigan Tech is offering a
$2,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of
the person or persons responsible for placing the explosive devices near
the forestry and forest service buildings on Monday. Anyone with information
can call MTU Public Safety at 487-2216.
A task force has been formed
to handle the investigation. The FBI, ATF, and investigative officers
from the Michigan State Police, Michigan Tech Public Safety, Houghton
County Sheriff. Houghton and Hancock City Police will work jointly on
the investigation.
The FBI Marquette office is
the lead investigative unit and will handle the details of the investigation.
The university received no
advance warning of the November 5 incident and, to date, no organization
has taken responsibility.
