Updated: Online Threat Against University of Chicago Was A Response To Laquan McDonald Shooting

By Kate Shepherd in News on Nov 30, 2015 6:05PM



via Jazmin Medrano

An arrest has been made in the investigation into a threat of violence that shut down the University of Chicago's Hyde Park campus on Monday.

A University of Illinois at Chicago student living off-campus has been arrested, according to a statement posted on UIC's site.

Despite the fact no threats were made against UIC students, faculty or staff, the university has increased patrols on campus.

"We are monitoring this situation closely and are concerned about the impact this has had on our campus and the University of Chicago," UIC Chancellor Michael Amiridis said in the statement.

A University of Chicago spokesman and a Chicago Police Department spokesman declined to comment on the investigation Monday morning, and the FBI could not immediately be reached for comment.

Updated 12:30 p.m.: The Tribune is reporting that the threat was to kill 16 white male students or staff at the University of Chicago "in retaliation" for the shooting of Laquan McDonald. The comment was posted in response to a video clip from the 1995 movie "Panther" on www.worldstarhiphop.com, according to the Tribune:

"This is my only warning. At 10AM Monday morning, I'm going to the campus quad of the University of Chicago. I will be armed with an M-4 carbine and two desert eagles, all fully loaded. I will execute approximately 16 white male students and or staff, which is the same number of time McDonald was killed," wrote the commenter, who posted with the initials "JRD" and a Chicago Bulls logo, according to the police report. "I will then die killing any number of white policeman in the process. This is not a joke. I am to do my part and rid the world of white devils. I expect you do the same."

A New York resident reportedly called the FBI on Sunday morning to report the comment.

The FBI confirmed in an email statement to Chicagoist that: "An individual is in custody in connection with the threat of violence at the University of Chicago. Charges are pending, and no further information is available at this time."

Updated 1:30 p.m.: Investigators who searched the student's off-campus residence did not find a gun, sources told the Sun-Times.

Updated 3:30 p.m.: Chicago resident Jabari R. Dean, 21, was charged with transmitting a threat in interstate commerce, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced in a statement. Dean was arrested without incident this morning before the 10:00 a.m. deadline announced in the threat.

The maximum sentence for the charge is five years in prison. Dean was scheduled make his first court appearance at 3:00 p.m. Monday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Susan E. Cox.