Utah university student arrested over ‘nuclear’ bomb threat if team didn’t win

Police said the threats were made on Yik Yak, an anonoymous social media app

The Utah Utes football stadium in Salt Lake City, Utah (Getty Images)

A student at the University of Utah has reportedly been arrested on suspicion of making a bomb threat if the college football team, the Utah Utes, did not win their game at the weekend.

Police told KSL.com that the suspect, a 21-year-old woman, was taken into custody on Saturday and booked into the Salt Lake County following the threat.

The student had reportedly threatened to detonate a nuclear reactor owned by the university in Salt Lake City, which according to Deseret News is stored in the engineering building on campus.

The woman allegedly "posted threats of violence" on Yik Yak, a social message app where users are anonymous, ahead of the Utah Utes game against the San Diego Saint Aztecs of San Diego State University, reports said.

"If the football team did not win the game, (she) was going to detonate the nuclear reactor that is located in the University of Utah causing a mass destruction," a police affidavit obtained by Yahoo Sports said.

Police noted that the student was "aware of where the reactor is located and attends class in the same building where the reactor is housed”, but did not name the invidiual. An investigation is thought to be ongoing.

The arrest comes after a 19-year-old University of Utah student was arrested for making a similar threat on the same social media app, Yahoo Sports reported.

The Utah Utes beat their San Diego opponents on Saturday 35-7.