UP says ‘suspicious article’ found at USF is not a threat
The “suspicious article” found on campus Tuesday evening is not a threat, said Michael Lavelle, a University Police (UP) spokesperson.
Lavelle said UP was conducting a “multi-agency” training exercise when it encountered the object around 4:30 p.m. near USF Redbud Lane and USF Sycamore Drive.
UP did not provide an exact location or description of the object at the time of publication.
Those enrolled in AlertUSF received the first message around 4:40 p.m. and were urged to avoid the area, according to the Emergency Notifications timeline.
The agencies took the “necessary precautions” to protect the site after they confirmed the article was not part of the training and called the Tampa Police Department (TPD) bomb squad, Lavelle said.
UP did not disclose which agencies were present in the exercise at the time of publication.
Lavelle said the TPD bomb squad further examined the object, determined it was not a threat and cleared the area.
The last AlertUSF update sent around 7:15 p.m. said the incident had been settled and people could return to regular activities.
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