North Carolina University issues ‘shelter in place order’ following ‘direct threat’ over BLM mural

Students and teachers warned ‘do not come to campus’

A portion of a "Black Lives Matter" mural that was vandalized with red paint along 5th Avenue outside Trump Tower (REUTERS)

Students and staff at a university in North Carolina University were put under a "shelter in place" order after the school received a threat over a Black Lives Matter mural painted on campus.

The University of North Carolina Asheville (UNC Asheville) announced a “bulldog alert” on Friday warning people not to attend campus. They stated that the order would be in place until further notice.

“During the night several offices at the University received an email communicating a direct threat to members of the UNC Asheville community,” a safety alert from the university at said.

“The email demanded that the Black Lives Matter mural on University Heights on campus be painted over.”

The university did not specify the details of the threat and said that the threat to the campus is under investigation by state and local authorities.

“Multiple law enforcement agencies are working together with UNC Asheville campus police to continue the investigation,” the institution posted in a later update.

The order urged students not to come to campus and said that all in-person or virtual classes and extracurricular activities were cancelled.

The university has about 3,600 students from 40 states and 21 countries, according to its website.