ANTI-TERRORISM police descended on the University of New South Wales (UNSW) today after being notified of threats made to staff and students at the Kensington campus, in Sydney’s south east.

“We are treating this incident seriously and have been liaising with the NSW Police through the anti-terrorism and security group and Local Area Command,” the University said in a statement, posted on social media this afternoon.

“Police are advising this is a general, not a specific or direct threat.”

The threats are thought to stem from a post made on the website 4Chan yesterday by a user identified only as Anonymous.

In the post, the user claimed to have obtained a handgun and warned Australian students should not go into UNSW the following day.

In a statement, NSW Police confirmed they were investigating comments made on social media about UNSW.

“Police are working with the University regarding this matter, and will be at the facility throughout the day.”

A UNSW spokesman told news.com.au the threat was of a general nature.

“Classes are continuing and that will only change if advised further”.

The large campus in Kensington has many access routes and would be challenging to lock down completely. Staff and students who wanted to leave campus were told they would not be penalised for doing so.

Posting on Facebook, student Arty Paoutov said, “I’m heading home because even if the chance is next to nothing, my life is worth more than class participation.”

The threat came just over a week after the shooting of a civilian police worker outside the Parramatta police complex by 15-year-old Farhad Jabar, who is believed to have been radicalised by Islamic extremists in recent months.

Okkkk so gun threat at unsw.......... i think they should cancel uni......... — Natasha Malla (@NatashaMalla) October 12, 2015

UNSW, just stay safe no matter what. It may be nothing but its better to keep safe. — jo lyn (@lynnniejo) October 12, 2015

Posts on social media said there was a large police presence at the university due to the threat.

A student from UNSW posted on Facebook, “It’s a scary thought that one can’t even walk through uni or to the coffee shop or anywhere without the fear of this”.