By Paul A. Anthony, Editor in Chief

A student’s “love offering” became the focus of a brief bomb investigation Tuesday after the Abilene Police Department received a bogus phone call threatening attacks against all three Abilene universities.

The call was made apparently to divert APD resources from an area where two teenagers were planning a burglary, said APD Lt. Mark Moore. Both teens were arrested, Moore said.

“From the get-go, it did not appear to be very credible,” said Jim Holmans, assistant to the president who coordinated the university’s response when APD called the ACU Police Department to relay the threat. “But you don’t want to take anything for granted.”

Moore said the caller said bombs had been placed at ACU, Hardin-Simmons and McMurry universities. The caller then said he would give the APD 30 minutes to find the bombs before calling back with demands.

APD called the universities as a precaution but stressed the department’s belief that the call was a hoax, Moore said.

“There was little in the phone call that led us to believe it was anything other than a prank,” Moore said. “They were going to give us an opportunity to find the bombs. If they were terrorists, and they were interested in creating destruction, why would they give us an opportunity to find the bombs?”

ACU Police Chief Jimmy Ellison said APD called the university at about 9:15 a.m. Ellison called Holmans, and Holmans in turn told building supervisors to walk through their buildings’ public areas as a precaution.

The job was made more difficult because the university’s network was down Tuesday morning, Holmans said, requiring individual phone calls to each supervisor.

“In crisis situations, Murphy’s Law is in effect,” Holmans said.

In the Mabee Business Buildings, officials noticed a long black equipment bag in the corner of a computer lab, prompting concern, Ellison said. However, a student worker identified the man who had left the bag-a student who had a later class in the lab and didn’t want to carry its contents throughout the day. The student was called out of class to identify and open the bag.

The bag contained roses and chocolate. Ellison declined to identify the student, saying he didn’t want to embarrass him any further.

“At about 9:50, we got the call from APD that the call was not credible,” Ellison said. “At about the same time, we confirmed that the bag contained a love offering.”

Ellison said the university took appropriate steps, considering APD’s assessment that the bomb threat probably was a hoax.

“Because of the lack of credibility in it, we felt good doing a walk-through of each building,” Ellison said.

The phone call came from a pay phone in a residential area, Moore said, and as officers were dispatched to the site, two calls to the police station reported suspicious persons and an attempted burglary.

The two teens arrested for the attempted burglary have denied making the phone call, a claim Moore said he doesn’t believe.

“They never called back [in 30 minutes],” Moore said, with a chuckle. “I believe they were in custody by then.”