University Of La Verne Cancels Classes After Social Media Threat, Smoking Backpack In Student's Car

LA VERNE (CBSLA) — Classes were canceled Friday at University of La Verne after reports of a student's car being set on fire on campus in what school officials says is part of a string of threats targeting students.

The university located at 1950 3rd Street issued a statement Friday saying over the past two days, officials received two reports of "heinous acts" against a student.

The campus closure followed the discovery of a "backpack emitting smoke" inside an unlocked vehicle Friday morning in a dormitory parking lot, according to police.

In response, all afternoon and evening classes on the La Verne campus were canceled in order to "allow the university to assess this evolving situation and continue to cooperate with law enforcement in ongoing criminal investigations."

This comes after La Verne police said student activists notified university officials Thursday about a threat received on social media.

"The threats, which were brought to the attention of the recipient through an anonymous social media account, are being investigated by the La Verne Police Department to determine the source of the threat," police said.

Police also said they were still trying to confirm a link between the social media threat and Friday's incident.

Student activists linked to the group Decolonize ULV say they believe the sender is trying to silence them because they have been calling out the university for allegedly not doing enough to combat racism on campus.

"We don't know who committed these acts of hate it is an act of hate but we know why it escalated," said one member, who didn't want to be identified. "The administration needs to address this problem."

The university issued a statement which read in part: "These actions are despicable and are an affront to our values as a university....this is a critical moment for us to declare that we will not tolerate this type of behavior."