Manaal Shareh

NYU administrators received an alias email at 10:43 a.m. on Thursday threatening to open fire at the university, targeting its Black students and faculty. The threat has not been deemed credible by any law enforcement agency, Campus Safety head Fountain Walker said in a universitywide email sent around 1 p.m.

Walker said that the New York City Police Department and FBI were “immediately” notified and believe the email address has been used to send hoax threats in the past. He added that there will be heightened police presence around campus as investigations into the threat mature.   

“At this point, we are not making any changes to campus operations, but shall continue to be on a heightened state of alert,” Walker said. “If there is a genuine emergency, if you detect anything that may relate to this threat, or if you have any knowledge of this threat or who sent it, please call the NYPD.”

In an email obtained by WSN and titled “NYU will pay for Iryna with blood,” the user “Bumpy McGraw” threatened to shoot the university after noon and included a six-page manifesto with racist language, detailing the intent of his threat. The email did not specify a location or campus site that would be targeted.

The writer, identifying himself as Michael J. Housmans, said he is targeting NYU because he is “in this area with guns, ammo” and cited the recent stabbing of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska in North Carolina. He said he sought to “go for a better score then Dylann Roof” — a white supremacist that killed nine people at a Black church in South Carolina in 2015. He added that the threat is “not associated with 11.09.2001” and attached a picture of a WASR-10 rifle at the end of the file. 

In the attached manifesto, the writer specified plans for “getting into campus” while hiding a pistol in his waistband. He said he would tell Campus Safety that he is “visiting my brother Jeffrey” or “returning books and will be leaving really soon.”  

The threat comes a day after Charlie Kirk, a prominent ally of President Donald Trump who was shot during a debate event at Utah Valley University. Around the same time, two students were critically injured in a Colorado high school shooting before the shooter took his own life. 

“Threats like this can be unnerving,” NYU spokesperson John Beckman said in a statement to WSN. “We have reminded the campus community of the resources available to assist students and employees.”

Contact Leena Ahmed, Amanda Chen, Eva Mundo and Dharma Niles at [email protected].