Tharunka understands that there has been an alleged threat of attack against the UNSW Kensington campus.
The post from anonymous user appeared on the 4chan website at approximately 9pm on Sunday night:
“I finally managed to get a hang gun. Australians, if you study at UNSW don’t go in tomorrow”.
If you’d like to see the full thread of the post, click here
Director of Facilities Management, Robert Kelly, this morning sent out an email to all UNSW students reminding them of safety and security procedures.
Approximately 50 minutes later, UNSW Facilities sent this out:
UNSW has been made aware of a threat to the safety of staff and students on the Kensington campus.
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.
Police are advising this is a general, not a specific or direct threat.
We will update you when more information comes to hand.
Tharunka is currently awaiting updates from UNSW Facilities Management, and will post information as it comes to us.
2:27pm
Strong police presence on campus
1:46pm
The UNSW Facebook page has stated that those students who wish to leave in light of the security situation will not be penalised for missing classes.
1:37pm
UNSW staff rely on UNSW Facebook page for updates. No classes have been cancelled as yet.
1:17pm
NSW Police issue statement about the security threat.
Police are investigating comments made on social media regarding a university in Sydney’s eastern suburbs.
Police are working with the university regarding this matter, and will be at the facility throughout the day.
Anyone with information that may assist police should contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
Police are urging anyone with information in relation to this incident to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or use the Crime Stoppers online reporting page: https://nsw.crimestoppers.com.au/ Information you provide will be treated in the strictest of confidence. We remind people they should not report crime information via our Facebook and Twitter pages.
A NSW Police spokesperson informed Tharunka that it is unlikely the post will be updated, however they are responding to comments on Twitter.
1:09pm
Tharunka spoke to Sarah Gregson of the NTEU regarding protocol for staff members of UNSW in the event of an emergency situation.
A source revealed that up till now, there has been no notification on the staff moodle of the threat or protocol in the case of emergency. When asked about an alert button at desks and lecterns and which situations that warrant their use, NTEU representative for UNSW Sarah Gregson told Tharunka that ‘If it’s there, there’s definitely a training deficit’.
Ms Gregson emphasised that this situation should not be taken lightly.
“I don’t want to play down security threats, however I wouldn’t like to see a situation where students are racially targeted or vilified as a result”.
Earlier this year, new Vice Chancellor Professor Ian Jacobs, put forward a plan to create a database of all UNSW staff mobile phone numbers incase of an emergency. This has yet to be implemented.
If you would like more information, you can contact UNSW Security on (02) 9385 6666, or you download the UNSW Security app to your phone, which can be found here.