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Bomb scare at Spartan Stadium forces brief evacuation

July 2, 2014
<p>Construction workers stand outside of Spartan Stadium after being evacuated due to a bomb threat July 2, 2014. A tweet from Alumni Association head Scott Westerman stated that all employees within the building were accounted for. Danyelle Morrow/The State News</p>

Construction workers stand outside of Spartan Stadium after being evacuated due to a bomb threat July 2, 2014. A tweet from Alumni Association head Scott Westerman stated that all employees within the building were accounted for. Danyelle Morrow/The State News

Photo by Danyelle Morrow | The State News

UPDATE, 6:25 p.m. — MSU Police announced two suspects are in custody in relation to Wednesday afternoon's bomb threat. MSU Police Sgt. Florene McGlothian-Taylor said she could not provide any further information about the suspects' identities or alleged motives.


Spartan Stadium and surrounding buildings were evacuated late Wednesday afternoon for a bomb scare that ended up proving false.

MSU Police Sgt. Florene McGlothian-Taylor said the threat was called in through central dispatch at 3:15 p.m. Police evacuated Spartan Stadium and the surrounding area and relocated personnel to areas in Wells Hall and near Munn Ice Arena.

Nathan Blixt, an employee in Web Services said officers walked into a conference room in the offices attached to the stadium told employees to evacuate.

"There was was a police officer that came into our meeting," Blixt said. "He said, 'just get out of the building, walk as far West as you can.'"

Employees stood across Chestnut Road from the stadium watching police as K-9 units entered the building, presumably to search for the presence of explosives. By about 4:20 p.m. employees began to disperse. For those who left the building with their belongings, the evacuation meant an early end to the work day.

When the evacuation order was given, recent graduate and MSU Museum employee Riley Ravary was working in the Central Services building which sits in the shadow of the stadium's east end. 

"We were supposed to evacuate, but we didn't hear about it," Ravary said. 

As other university employees dispersed, Ravary and a colleague were walking around the Stadium toward Munn Field. She said she wasn't particularly worried about the threat.

"I got an email saying we were supposed to evacuate, and there was a bomb threat, but a threat is not necessarily the real deal," Ravary said.

Shortly after 5:00 p.m. East Lansing Police reported the stadium had been reopened to car and foot traffic, and a bomb had not been located.

Police are still investigating.

Content Editor Olivia Dimmer contributed to this report

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