LSU Bomb Threat: Police Arrest 42-Year-Old Man

Baton Rouge, LA – A man has been arrested over bomb threats made to Louisiana State University (LSU).

William Bouvay Jr., 42, was taken into custody on Tuesday night, but he is not an LSU student and has no links to the university. Authorities have declined to speculate on a possible motive and have said they don’t believe Bouvay Jr. has been involved in other recent bomb threats against universities.

Similar threats were directed last week at college campuses in Texas, Ohio, and North Dakota. However, LSU Police Capt. Cory Lalonde was quick to dismiss any possible link when speaking to WVUE:

“We don’t believe at this point that there is any connection to the bomb threats at other universities.”

Lalonde described how multiple law enforcement agencies had been involved in tracking down Bouvay Jr. Authorities determined the 911 call made on Monday had come from a deactivated cellphone that could make only emergency calls. By Tuesday, police had identified the location of the phone and searched homes in the Baton Rouge area before identifying Bouvay Jr. as a suspect. The suspect apparently issued an admission of guilt shortly after, added Lalonde:

“Upon questioning, he admitted to making the phone call.”

The caller who made the threat against LSU claimed that multiple bombs would detonate on the campus within two hours of the phone calls. A force of bomb-squad officers with explosives-sniffing dogs were rapidly called in to search all campus buildings. The subsequent search failed to locate any explosives.

Bouvay is to be charged with communicating false information of a planned bombing; evacuated students were allowed to return to their dormitories late Monday night.