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SUNY Potsdam's university police 'vigorously investigating' hate threat leads; school mum on note's timing, placement, content

Posted 11/25/15

POTSDAM -- SUNY Potsdam officials say the school’s university police continue to “vigorously investigate” a number of leads into who left what they call a hate note threatening a professor and …

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SUNY Potsdam's university police 'vigorously investigating' hate threat leads; school mum on note's timing, placement, content

Posted

POTSDAM -- SUNY Potsdam officials say the school’s university police continue to “vigorously investigate” a number of leads into who left what they call a hate note threatening a professor and the larger campus community.

On Tuesday, the school said a new hate note had been found, directed at Prof. John Youngblood, who had discovered two notes in his office last year. SUNY Potsdam officials described them as “racist and homophobic vitriol” and a former student at the college was charged earlier in the month.

School officials are not divulging where the note was found, when or its content, citing concerns with compromising an ongoing criminal probe.

"We understand you may be anxious for more specific details, but we must protect the integrity of the investigation,” SUNY Potsdam President Kristin Esterberg said in a prepared statement. “The college cannot provide any information regarding the wording of the message and its exact location, or the timeframe in which it may have been delivered.”

The threats discovered in the spring drew the FBI, in addition to numerous other local police agencies.

School spokesperson Alex Jacobs said she does not believe the FBI is involved this time.

“The campus remains in a state of heightened security, with additional patrols deployed both from University Police and from Potsdam Village Police,” Esterberg said. “The college is deploying added resources and security measures to support our campus community, and to prepare for the return of our faculty and students following the Thanksgiving break. We will update campus on these efforts before classes resume on Monday.”

SUNY Potsdam is offering a $1,000 reward for any information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for the new threat.

People can contact university police at 267-2222.