Online Threat Of Mass Shooting At Philadelphia Area Colleges Prompts FBI, ATF To Issue Alert

On October 4 FBI and ATF officials issued a warning to Philadelphia area colleges after an explicit threat to carry out a mass shooting was posted online.

The threat is believed to have been posted on 4chan on October 2, a duplicate of which appeared elsewhere online and is reproduced below.

“The first of our kind has struck fear into the hearts of America,” the post reads. “His cries have been heard, even by the President.”

This is only the beginning. The Beta Rebellion has begun. Soon, more of our brothers will take up arms to become martyrs to this revolution.

On October 5, 2015 at 1:00PM CST, a fellow robot will take up arms against a university near Philadelphia. His cries will be heard. His victims will cower in fear, and the strength of the union will decay a little more.

The FBI and the ATF alerted all Philadelphia area colleges and universities in response to the post.

The FBI released the following statement:

Out of an abundance of caution, the FBI Philadelphia Field Office notified local colleges and universities of a social media posting which threatened violence at a Philadelphia-area college or university for Monday, October 5.

No specific college or university was identified in the posting. We encourage students, faculty, and employees at area colleges and universities to follow the guidance of their campus security officials.

The FBI will continue to work with our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners to investigate threats of violence, and, as always, we ask the public to report suspicious activity to law enforcement.

“Although the FBI has assured us there is no specific threat to a particular college or university, we are taking this very seriously and are taking extra precautions to protect the Drexel community,” a Drexel University official wrote.

According to NBC Philadelphia, which broke the story Sunday, Drexel “plans on increasing patrols on campus Monday. Drexel Police and Allied Security officers have been notified. They are also working with University of Pennsylvania Police and Philadelphia Police.

Villanova University officials also sent an alert to all students, faculty and staff notifying them of the threat, NBC Philadelphia reports.

“The information includes a specific date of Monday, Oct. 5, 2015,” wrote Villanova Public Safety Director David Tedjeske.

“Authorities have no other knowledge of a specific threat. In response, the University has notified the Radnor Police Department and is working in conjunction with them to enhance protection of the campus. In addition, the Public Safety Department has increased security patrols.”

Another alert sent to Temple University students and faculty provided more details on the threat.

“Temple University, along with other colleges and universities in our region, has learned from the ATF (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives) that a threat of violence has been made online against ‘a university near Philadelphia,’” a Temple University official wrote. “This posting states an action could take place at 1 p.m. central (2 p.m. eastern) Monday, Oct. 5, 2015.”

4chan users reportedly sought to spread rumors concerning the October 1 school shooting event in Oregon.

Mass shooting events have been seized upon and admittedly “politicized” by the Obama administration over the past few years to strengthen gun control measures in anticipation of the Obama’s embrace of the United Nations Small Arms Treaty.

Professor James F. Tracy is an Associate Professor of Media Studies at Florida Atlantic University. James Tracy’s work on media history, politics and culture has appeared in a wide variety of academic journals, edited volumes, and alternative news and opinion outlets. James is editor of Union for Democratic Communication’s Journal Democratic Communiqué and a contributor to Project Censored’s forthcoming publication Censored 2013: The Top Censored Stories and Media Analysis of 2011-2012. Additional writings and information are accessible at memoryholeblog.com.