Investigators have determined that two bomb threats received against Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids originated from a building on the campus. Cedar Rapids Police Sergeant Cristy Hamblin says the e-mail threats were sent to a television station in Des Moines, which forwarded the messages to police.
Both bomb threats were traced to kiosk computers on the second floor of Linn Hall, located on the main Kirkwood Community College campus. The threats twice forced evacuations of several buildings. No bombs were found.
The threats were e-mailed on April 1st and 2nd – just a few days after a bomb destroyed a pop machine at an apartment complex near Kirkwood.
"At this point, we don’t know if they’re related or not," Hamblin said. No one has been arrested in the cases. Kirkwood Community College is offering a $2,500 reward for information that leads to an arrest. Hamblin says police are hoping someone will come forward – who was in Linn Hall at the time the e-mails were sent.
"We’re asking to students to remember if they were in Linn Hall at the time and do they remember anyone sitting at the computer," Hamblin said. The e-mail on April 1st was sent at 11:14 a.m.
The e-mail sent the following day was received by WHO-TV at 11:54 a.m. Cedar Rapids Crime Stoppers is also offering a reward for the arrest of the person or persons responsible. The organization’s phone number is 1-800-CR-CRIME.
