A bomb threat rattled the University of Oregon (OSU) — an issue was given on Tuesday warning students that explosives may be hidden inside one of the campus’s food delivery robots.
The university made a series of posts on X to inform students about the bomb threat — however, it turned out to be a prank.
“Bomb Threat in Starship food delivery robots. Do not open robots. Avoid all robots until further notice, Public Safety is responding,” they posted. They urged students to stay safe.
Within an hour, technicians were on the scene, examining every food delivery bot on the premises.
“The DPS began remotely isolating robots in a safe location for inspection by a law enforcement dog trained in bomb detection,” but of course, there would be no bombs to find. They finished their search by 1:52 p.m. before sending out one final pressing alert.
“Emergency is over. All Clear. You may now resume normal activities. Robot inspection continues in a safe location.”
The DPS found the man who committed the hoax, but it hasn’t been revealed if he was a student or not yet. Some online are speculating it was a morning talk show host, but there is no evidence corroborating this.
Unfortunately, this damaged the reputation and business of the company, Starship, who manufactured the food delivery bots.
“While the student has subsequently stated this is a joke and a prank, Starship suspended the service. Safety is of the utmost importance to Starship and we are cooperating with law enforcement and the university during this investigation.”
They had to suspend their food delivery services with USO.
Calling in a fake bomb threat can be classified as either a Class A Misdemeanor or a Class B Misdemeanor, which carries a maximum sentence of up to one year in prison and a fine of up to $6250 in Oregon.