UO Urgent Info: threat rumor update; message from family

There is no current, credible threat to the University of Oregon. The following message is being shared by the UO on May 13 at the request of the family of the person who recent rumors have said intended harm to campus. The rumors spread on social media are UNTRUE and the family has asked for the opportunity to clear this up; the names of the family and individual are not shared for obvious privacy reasons. This statement is also posted on the UO Alerts page.

We are the family members of the person who, during a mental health crisis, made posts on a Facebook page that some people found worrying or threatening.

These posts never threatened violence to the UO or any person, but showed the strained state our family member was in. Other people somehow pulled from this that our family member was threatening violence to the campus and then shared that with each other on social media, and that went viral.

We want the community to know that our family member is not a threat, and is in the hospital under secure care this week and our family member will leave the state and come home with us after leaving the hospital. Our family member has no guns, no history of violence. Our family member is a person having a mental health crisis and receiving needed care. Our family member only has wanted to do good in the world, but in this state, the words used on Facebook to express fragmented thoughts were unusual.

We are sorry that this has resulted in worry or fear for people at the school our family member loves. We hope that you will understand that our family member is not a threat and to please respect our family’s need to take care of one another at this time.

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A reminder from law enforcement: If people ever have information about actual threats of violence they should call 9-1-1, or contact police at non-emergency numbers: UOPD 541-346-2919; Eugene Police 541-682-5111.