Gun threat prompts University of Chicago to cancel Monday classes

[November 30, 2015]  (Reuters) - The University of Chicago has canceled Monday classes and activities after being warned by the FBI that someone had made an online threat of gun violence on campus, university President Robert J. Zimmer announced on Sunday.

FBI counterterrorism officials said the threat from an unknown person made specific reference to the quad on the university’s Hyde Park campus, Zimmer said on the school’s website.

Students and all non-essential staff were advised to stay away from campus through midnight Monday. Students in college housing were asked to stay indoors.

Zimmer cited “recent tragic events on campuses across the country” in the decision. College campuses have been the sites of several shootings this year.

The University of Chicago, a private school with about 14,500 graduate and undergraduate students, is located several miles outside downtown Chicago.

(Reporting by Kevin Murphy in Kansas City; Editing by Chris Michaud and Paul Tait)

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