Creighton University student tells officials she had tried to make ricin
Omaha NE Jan 19 2021
A Creighton University student told workers in a hospital emergency room Thursday night that she had tried to make the poison ricin in an attempt to harm herself. That prompted officials to shut down the emergency room and evacuate her dormitory.
The young woman had gone to the Creighton University Medical Center-University Campus at 2412 Cuming St. She told staff that the ricin-making materials were still in her dorm room, so staffers contacted the Omaha Fire Department, Omaha Police Officer Joseph Nickerson said Friday.
The ER was locked down because of possible ricin exposure, Nickerson said, and the fire department, Omaha police and Creighton campus security evacuated Davis Square apartments, which is near 20th and Burt Streets. About 50 Creighton students had to be moved into other campus housing, a Creighton spokeswoman said.
Police were contacted about the incident just before 8:55 p.m., Nickerson said.
A hazardous materials crew cleaned the building, he said.
There is no antidote for ricin poisoning, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Davis Square housed a comparatively low number of students because classes aren’t in session, said Cindy Workman, the Creighton spokeswoman. Davis Square opened in 2004 to give Creighton students the option of apartment-style living, including up to three and four bedrooms in a unit. The Davis Square website says that up to 260 students could live there.
Friday morning, Omaha police and Creighton campus security officers were inside the Davis Square apartments. A moving truck was parked on the west side of the building, with police cars on either side of it.
The CDC says ricin is a poison found naturally in castor beans. If castor beans are chewed and swallowed, the released ricin can cause injury. Ricin can be made from the waste material left over from processing castor beans.
