Williams students, faculty and staff,
Earlier today, the campus community was informed of a suspicious package in Wachenheim. Responders ultimately determined that it was not dangerous. In the wake of this afternoon’s emergency messages, I want to follow up by providing further information. There are limits on what I can share due to the fact that police are continuing to investigate and some facts simply are not known to us. But here is what I can tell you, as of now, about the incident and our response:
Shortly after noon, a member of our community opened a package delivered to Wachenheim. The nature and purpose of its contents were unclear and concerning to the people involved. They immediately reported the situation to Campus Safety staff, who in turn engaged the Williamstown Police and Fire Departments to investigate.
As a precaution, we promptly evacuated all academic buildings, residences and streets within a set perimeter. Given that we could not rule out the possibility that the contents were dangerous, the state bomb squad was called in. This is a precautionary measure built into our standard safety protocols for such situations.
Fortunately, the bomb squad was able to determine that the device was not a bomb or other threat. Once that determination was made, we allowed people to return to the evacuated buildings and resume business as usual.
A law enforcement investigation is ongoing. This is standard procedure: there is no information indicating a threat to people at Williams. We also have no basis for speculating on the source or intent of the package. If you have information that might be relevant, please contact the Williamstown Police at (413) 458-5733 or Campus Safety at (413) 597-4444.
I am extremely grateful to the people whose quick actions triggered our response. They did exactly what we hope anyone would do in such a situation. I also want to thank our amazing Campus Safety Services team and all the other college staff involved, as well as our strong partners from the Williamstown Police and Fire District, Northern Berkshire EMS, the Massachusetts State Police and their bomb squad, who quickly responded and brought the situation to a safe conclusion.
We are making resources available to anyone in our community who needs them after today’s events and messages. If you or someone you know wants support, please reach out to Integrative Wellbeing Services, the Chaplains, the Deans, OIDEI, or any faculty or staff member to whom you feel comfortable talking. We are all here to help.
I want to end by once again thanking everyone who contributed to this afternoon’s outcome, and those helping with followup and the ongoing investigation.
Maud