Michigan Tech Discusses Racial Threat–Suspect Still Not Arraigned

UPDATE: The suspect in the social media threat at Michigan Tech has been released on bond, charged with disturbing the peace, and will be arraigned on Monday.

—————————————————————————————————————-

A suspect believed to be responsible for posting a racially motivated threat to students at Michigan Tech is in custody.

The suspect was located late Thursday night with the help of Yik Yak, the social media platform where the threat was originally posted, and Michigan Tech Information Technology.

Michigan Tech received a Twitter message alerting them to the post about 2pm Thursday.

MTU Associate V.P. for Enrollment & Communications John Lehman said, “The anonymous poster said they wanted to shoot all black people. We called Public Safety immediately. They sprang into action and we sent a note out to the entire campus informing them of the nature of the threat.”

The investigation to locate the suspect began immediately while the University’s Center for Diversity and Inclusion offered support to those rattled by the threat.

Universities across the nation are wrestling with racism on campus. Michigan Tech is no exception.

MTU Center For Diversity & Inclusion Assistant Director Christa Spielman said, “The bottom line is that a lot of racial tension goes unreported or reported to certain people. So, there may be some people even on Tech’s campus that aren’t necessarily aware that racial tension has been building or that it’s constantly present, but absolutely, it’s here and it’s absolutely an issue that we take very seriously.”

The suspect is currently lodged in the Houghton County Jail.

No information about the suspect has been released pending arraignment.