After news broke Wednesday morning that a noose was found outside an MSU dorm room, MSU police launched an investigation and President Lou Anna K. Simon released a statement. The act was initially described by the university as a "racial incident."

Numerous student groups and MSU organizations reacted on Twitter, including ASMSU, MSU LiveOn and MSU's Black Student Alliance.

Here is the full statement from MSU spokesperson Jason Cody:

After investigating, MSU Police have determined the object was a packaged leather shoelace and not a noose. The matching packaged shoelace was found outside of the residence hall. Officers located and spoke to the student who lost both of the shoelaces, which are packaged in a way that someone could perceive them to look similar to a noose. The student who lost the shoelaces lives on the same floor as the student who made the original report.

Also, the original shoelace found inside the residence hall was not directed at any individual. It originally was seen on hallway floor and later on a stairwell door handle, where officers believe someone put it after picking it up.

As we did in this case, the university takes any reported racial incident very seriously. We feel it is important to quickly communicate what we know to the campus community and provide updates as necessary. MSU continues to provide support to the students involved.