A second threatening incident in as many weeks prompted Southeastern Community College to increase security on its West Burlington campus. SCC Spokesman Jeff Ebbing said the college received an anonymous tip Monday afternoon about two students with "guns in their backpacks" on campus.
The West Burlington Police Department responded.
Officers eventually took an individual into custody, but the department said it was determined he "was not related to the incident involving the guns."
"After further investigation, it was determined that the reported incident involving two students with guns occurred on Friday, Feb. 20. This incident was not reported to a faculty member until (Monday). At this time, the identity of the subjects that were reported of having guns is unknown and it is still unknown at this time if there were ever any people with guns or their identity."
SCC president Michael Ash said the college takes every threat seriously.
"Even though Monday's incident may not have been quite as dire as first reported, situations like these happen fast and details can be hard to come by," said Ash. "Given what we knew at the time, we felt the need to contact law enforcement and notify our students and staff."
The college said this incident is not related to an online threat made against an instructor on the West Burlington campus that was posted last week on the rate my professor website.
"Thankfully, neither incident resulted in any harm to person or property," said Ash.
In response, the college has requested the West Burlington Police Department regularly patrol the campus and set up additional coverage from its current security firm.
It is also issuing staff ID badges this week and installing key-card electronic door lock systems over the next year.
“We’ve made excellent progress in recent years with how we address safety and security issues," said Ash. "Some of what we’ve learned through our training has been deployed in response to the incidents of the past few weeks.”
