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Less than a month after opening for the new school year, two Virginia HBCUs 鈥斅� Virginia State and Hampton Universities聽 鈥� closed on Thursday after receiving threats to their campuses.
Though neither school on what the threats entail, attention on campus safety has been heightened nationwide after the death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, who was fatally shot during an event at Utah Valley University on Wednesday.
In the past few years, Virginia鈥檚 institutions including (VSU) and Universities have navigated multiple threats, some of which ended in no activity or followed after gun violence while others were found to be unsubstantiated.
鈥淭he safety and well-being of our students, faculty, staff, and visitors remain our highest priority,鈥� Hampton University said in a statement Thursday morning, adding that further updates will be provided by the end of the day.
Hampton said in a statement that it received notice of a 鈥減otential threat鈥� and has ceased all non-essential activities, effective immediately. All campus activities and classes would also be closed through Friday including athletic events and activities.
Virginia State advised the school鈥檚 community to continue checking VSU emails for updates.
Last July, Hampton locked down the school to investigate a bomb threat targeting The William R. Harvey Library and the University Dining Hall, according to . Officials determined there was no threat.
Then, a month later in Petersburg, Virginia State locked down its school after four people, none of whom were enrolled students, were shot on Boisseau Street outside Daniel Gymnasium on the university鈥檚 campus, reported. The media outlet reported that all four people were then taken to a local hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries.
As of 12:30 p.m., no other institute in Virginia has announced any similar closure.
Historically Black educational institutions in other states were also forced to close Thursday due to threats, including and
