In response to threats against colleges in Providence and Worcester, Mass., the FBI received Wednesday, Vice President for Administration Walter Hunter e-mailed the Brown community yesterday afternoon to assure students that the Department of Public Safety "does not believe that we are facing any danger."
But Hunter also wrote that the University will "continue to be on a heightened sense of alert" in response to the murder of 32 students at Virginia Tech last week.
"FBI and Providence Police investigators handling this matter have advised us that they believe this threat is not credible," Hunter wrote in his e-mail to the campus.
The Providence Journal reported Wednesday that the threat came from a 43-year-old man, Raymond Ouellette, arrested Saturday in Seekonk, Mass.
"During the booking process at the Seekonk Police Station, Ouellette made statements which were potentially threatening to the public. The FBI was notified of the statements for further investigation," the Seekonk police said in a statement.
Before his arrest this weekend, Ouellette had 19 outstanding warrants for his arrest in Massachusetts, the Journal reported. He is also wanted in Florida, the state of his last recorded address.
Hunter said the FBI contacted the University earlier this week to alert them to "some possible threats of violence against area colleges." The Boston Globe reported Wednesday that one college in Providence and several in Worcester were contacted by the FBI.
DPS patrols have not increased in response to either the Virginia Tech shooting or the threats revealed today. "We're just being extra careful," Hunter told The Herald. But, he added, "We have had more visits from Providence police checking in with us" since the shooting.
"When something like (Virginia Tech) happens, you have to be on the alert for copycats," Hunter said.
