Bomb threat arrest made

LSU police think suspect not part of other campus cases.

BATON ROUGE, La. — Police arrested a suspect in a bomb threat that led to the evacuation of the LSU campus earlier this week but don’t believe he is connected to threats made against three other universities.

LSU Police Capt. Cory Lalonde said officers arrested William Bouvay Jr., 42, of Baton Rouge late Tuesday after an investigation by multiple law enforcement agencies.

Lalonde said Bouvay was not an LSU student and appeared to have no connection to the campus. He did not know what the suspect’s motive might have been.

Investigators don’t think Bouvay is connected to threats made last week at college campuses in Texas, North Dakota and Ohio.

“We don’t believe at this point that there is any connection to the bomb threats at other universities,” Lalonde said.

Lalonde said police tracked Bouvay down after determining the Monday 911 call that led to the threat came from a deactivated cellphone that could only make emergency calls.

Lalonde said investigators were able to pinpoint the location of the cellphone Tuesday and searched homes in the Baton Rouge neighborhood before identifying Bouvay as a suspect.

“Upon questioning, he admitted to making the phone call,” Lalonde said.

The threat set into motion a massive evacuation of the sprawling campus that sparked traffic jams as thousands left.

The caller didn’t specify where on campus bombs might be planted, so bomb-squad officers with explosives-sniffing dogs were called in to search all buildings.

As with the threats made last week at the University of Texas, North Dakota State University and Hiram College, the search failed to turn up explosives.

Authorities said Bouvay will be charged with communicating false information of a planned bombing and could face other charges.

Moore said Bouvay does not have a lawyer yet.