AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The University of Texas at Austin president says evacuating campus buildings 15 minutes before a bomb threat was to be executed left enough time for students and staff to get to safety.
School President Bill Powers said everyone was safe about 10 minutes after the evacuation order was given at 9:50 a.m. Friday. The order to clear campus buildings came 75 minutes after authorities say the threatening call was made.
A university spokeswoman says a man claiming to be affiliated with al-Qaida said he had placed bombs all over the 50,000-student campus and that they would detonate in 90 minutes.
Powers says officials couldn't determine the credibility of the threat before deciding the "prudent thing" was to clear all buildings. Authorities say they were searching for bombs in the meantime.
