University Police charged an Observatory Hill dining hall employee yesterday with threatening to bomb the dining hall last Friday.
Police arrested Danielle Patrice Carr, 18, for allegedly writing a note stating that a bomb was on the premises. The note was found by another employee about 4:30 Friday afternoon.
Police evacuated the dining hall, which was nearly empty at the time of the threat, for approximately 45 minutes while they searched the building and determined that there was no bomb.
Carr is not suspected of perpetrating the bomb threats on Cabell and Wilson Halls on Friday or the threat on the Aquatic & Fitness Center last month, University Police Sgt. Melissa Fielding said.
"This incident was totally separate and, as far as we know, not related to other bomb threats," Fielding said.
Carr was charged with a class five felony, punishable by one to 10 years in prison and/or a $2,500 fine.
Carr was released on a $1,500 bond and will appear in Albemarle County court tomorrow, according to a University Police press release.
University Police, the Charlottesville Fire Department and a Virginia State Police bomb expert responded when alerted to the bomb threat at Observatory Hill. Police soon suspected Carr, Fielding said.
The Observatory Hill scare is the third bomb threat directed at the University in the past month.
The AFC was evacuated Feb. 12 when a 911 operator took a call claiming that a bomb was in the exercise facility.
Although no bomb was found, police promised an increased police presence around the AFC following the incident.
Friday morning, police evacuated Cabell and Wilson Halls in response to a bomb threat. The buildings remained closed for almost six hours, causing many classes to be cancelled.
Police officers said the three incidents are unrelated, but arrests have not been made in the AFC and Cabell/Wilson cases.
Fielding declined to comment further on the Observatory Hill incident because it is an open investigation.
Dining services officials also declined to comment on the incident.
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