In response to a bomb threat at the State Street 7-Eleven early Thursday afternoon, Madison, Capitol and UW-Madison police evacuated campus buildings and surrounding apartment complexes and are advising pedestrians to stay away from the area.
Less than three hours later, authorities gave the all-clear after sweeping the area with bomb-sniffing dogs and finding no explosive devices or other evidence. No arrests have been reported in connection with the incident.
At at 12:17 p.m., through the WiscAlert messaging system, the campus community was alerted of an “incident” occurring around the intersection between State Street and Lake Street.
“We have the street blocked off because someone called in a threat at the end of the block, so out of an abundance of caution and with recent events going on, we’re taking it very seriously until the bomb squad tells us it isn’t,” a Madison Police Department officer at the scene told The Daily Cardinal.
An incident report from MPD later stated that someone had called 911 and claimed they had planted explosives in the 7-Eleven that could be detonated at any time
A later WiscAlert confirmed the situation was a bomb threat located at the 7-Eleven that sits on the corner of State and Lake Streets and advised pedestrians to stay away from the area.
Authorities evacuated Memorial Library, as well as the UW Extension Building. Individuals evacuated from buildings are being instructed by police to shelter in the nearby Memorial Union.
Residents of nearby apartment complexes including Varsity and Collegiate apartments were also asked to evacuate the buildings "until [they] are cleared to return", according to an email sent to residents. The Chazen Museum also tweeted it would close its doors until the incident was resolved.
Police had blocked off State Street from Frances Street down to the foot of Bascom Hill, and Lake Street in a one-block radius in either direction from the intersection.
At 2:53 p.m., UW-Madison released a WiscAlert that the situation was "no longer a threat" and that the City of Madison Police Department will continue their investigation into the incident.
