The return to in-person classes on UCLA’s campus has been canceled Tuesday morning, after threats were made against the campus and the department members.
UCLA police are working with out-of-state agencies to gather more information about the threats and the individual who sent them. NBC’s investigative unit also confirmed the Federal Bureau of Investigation is aware of the situation.
According to Nathan Robbins, a junior who spoke to NBCLA on Monday night, the threats included a video referencing a mass shooting. Robbins says his girlfriend was one of the people to receive an email with a link to the video from a former UCLA researcher and guest lecturer.
“He emailed her old class with this weird threat, including like a link to a video about mass shooting with himself in it so— basically threatening to come shoot up the school,” Robbins said.
“It’s really terrifying, honestly,” he added.
Monday night, NBCLA received a statement from the school, saying university police are aware of “a concerning email and posting sent to some members of the UCLA community today and actively engaged with out-of-state law enforcement and federal agencies.”
According to a report by the Los Angeles Times, the threatening emails — sent to several people at UCLA — also included an 800-page manifesto containing violent threats to specific individuals and racist language.
“I want to inform you that UCLA Police Department is aware of a concerning email and posting sent to some members of the UCLA community today,” the school’s administrative vice chancellor Michael Beck said in a statement to students.
It was followed up by a post stating in-person classes on UCLA’s campus will be held remotely Tuesday.
Some students appeared stunned by the news of the video and manifesto, and expressed concern — before in-person classes were changed to remote classes — that they had to wait to receive an official statement from the school to be able to stay off-campus in favor of personal safety.
“It’s definitely hitting hard,” Kahlila Williams, a senior, told NBC 4 on Monday night. “I cannot, financially, miss my hours” at school and her job, she explained. “It’s just like… it’s a conflicting decision. It’s just really hard.”
