Woman arrested after alleged threat to Benedictine College in Atchison

ATCHISON, Kan. – Authorities have taken an 18-year-old woman into custody in connection with an online threat to a northeast Kansas college.

The St. Joseph News-Press reports security was increased at Benedictine College late Tuesday after an anonymous threat posted on the social networking site YikYak.

Atchison police Chief Mike Wilson says authorities arrested one person associated with the comments, but formal charges hadn’t been filed early Wednesday.

Benedictine spokesman Steve Johnson says security had been stepped up on the campus after the comments were posted.

He says classes are on as scheduled Wednesday on the campus, which is about 50 miles northwest of Kansas City.

College officials said the threat was believed to be a hoax.

College officials were attempting to reach Yik Yak, which provides anonymous social networking popular on college campuses, to identify who made the threats.

Similar threats on Yik Yak led to arrests of students at Northwest Missouri State University and the Missouri University of Science & Technology. The Northwest student, Connor B. Stottlemyre, faces a felony charge of making a terroristic threat after he used the networking tool to threaten to kill blacks.

This story was originally published November 18, 2015 at 10:02 AM with the headline "Woman arrested after alleged threat to Benedictine College in Atchison."