University of Kentucky student accused of faking bomb threats on campus
Lexington KY November 12 2018 A University of Kentucky student was arrested Thursday for making up bomb threats on campus — but not before telling local media she thought classes should be canceled for “safety” reasons.
Haily Duvall, a 19-year-old originally from Glasgow, Kentucky, was charged with fabricating and spreading terroristic threats against the White Hall building on her Lexington campus, the Lexington Herald-Leader reported.
A day prior to her arrest, Duvall showed screenshots of threatening Snapchat messages to the campus police. Police said they later traced the IP address from the messages back to Duvall.
“White Hall is about to be white ashes along with every a–hole student in it,” read one of the screenshots.
“Thirsty Thursdays are about become ticking time bomb Thursdays,” said another.
Duvall also spoke to reporters about her concern for students’ well-being, going so far as to tell the Kentucky Kernel she had a test in White Hall on Thursday that should be canceled — just to be safe.
“It’s a safe or sorry thing. Would you rather ignore it, and then somebody get hurt? I definitely take it seriously. I’ve even encouraged fellow students, ‘Hey if you don’t feel safe, don’t go,’” Duvall told the Kentucky Kernel.
“Your life is worth more than 10 participation points or notes you can get from a fellow student. This should not be taken like a grain of salt; there should be some concern in this situation,” she added.
Duvall also made an appearance on WKYT and told reporters she thought the threats were “more severe” than she initially thought.
“Definitely at first, I was like, yeah, no, this is one mad kid who probably failed an exam, but the more they came, once I was added on Snapchat by the person, I realized it was a little more severe than initially led on,” she said.
University of Kentucky police worked with the FBI to make the case against Duvall, who later admitted making up all but one of the four bomb threats.
The school beefed up security on campus on Thursday as a precaution, although Police Chief Joe Monroe said he never thought any of the threats were credible, reported the Lexington Herald-Leader.
Duvall cried in court Thursday when her pastor said he’d post her $1,000 bail and that the two of them would be having a face-to-face meeting about her alleged actions. Duvall could face federal charges and is due back in court Nov. 26.
