Bomb threat, anthrax scare close UMR
by Jaime Baranyai - Staff Writer
Published: Tuesday, February 27, 2007 10:45 PM CST

The reality of terrorism was brought home to Rolla Tuesday morning when a distraught University of Missouri-Rolla student threatened the community with words that have shaken big cities across the nation.

Bomb. Anthrax.

Law enforcement officials responding well before daylight quickly had the situation under control, the community safe and the perpetrator, an apparently overwrought University of Missouri-Rolla student from India, in jail on a $250,000 bond and facing six felony charges, including one for making terrorist threats.

Sujith Venkatramolla, a 22-year-old graduate student, was arrested shortly after officers from the University of Missouri-Rolla and the Rolla Police Department arrived at the Butler-Carlton Civil Engineering Building around 2:30 a.m. The incident started when Venkatramolla brandished a knife and showed a bag he said contained a bomb. He also claimed to have anthrax. At that point he was subdued with a taser gun and taken into custody.

The incident focused nationwide attention on Rolla when metro area TV crews began arriving from St. Louis and Springfield, and reporters from The New York Times and CNN started calling for details.

By the end of the day it was clear the bomb threat and the anthrax scare were bogus, part of an elaborate attempt at a police-assisted suicide. There was no bomb located in the Civil Engineering Building and the substance thought to be anthrax was powdered sugar. Phelps County Prosecuting Attorney Courtney George had filed six felony charges against Venkatramolla. In addition to the count of making terrorist threats, he was charged with three counts of first degree assault on a law enforcement officer, one count of resisting arrest and one count of making a false bomb.

University of Missouri-Rolla Chancellor John F. Carney III said even though it turned out to be a false alarm, he�s glad no chances were taken.

�A lot of people were inconvenienced, but when you look at what might have happened, we did what we had to do,� he said.

A Terrorist Threat?

The incident started at approximately 2:32 a.m. Tuesday when the University of Missouri-Rolla Police Department received a call regarding a University of Missouri-Rolla student who was threatening terrorist-type actions in the Butler-Carlton Civil Engineering Building. The call may have come from the suspect who was trying to disguise his voice as a woman�s, according to law enforcement officials. The University of Missouri-Rolla Police Department called the Rolla Police Department for backup and the two agencies responded to the scene.

�When we confronted the student he pulled a knife, held up a bag and said there was a bomb in it,� Capt. Mark Kearse, interim police chief of the Rolla Police Department, said at an 8:30 a.m. press conference Tuesday morning at City Hall.

Police officers tased Ventrakamolla and then arrested him. After being taken into custody, he was decontaminated, evaluated at the Phelps County Regional Medical Center and then taken back to the Rolla Police Department for more questioning.

In addition to the bomb, the suspect also said he had anthrax. A white powdery substance was found on the suspect and near a desk in one of the rooms of the Civil Engineering Building. A two-to-four page note was also found. Kearse could not release all the details of the note, but said it contained information about Venkatramolla�s various �missions.�

�Today�s [Tuesday] mission was to destroy the Civil Engineering Building,� Kearse said.

Kearse would not give specifics about the other �missions,� but said that �suicide by cops� was mentioned in the note.

The other 22 people who were in the building at the time of the incident were evacuated, and Rolla activated its Emergency Operations Center and Mobile Command Center to help respond to the situation. A decontamination unit was set up on 16th Street south of Pine Street for possible decontamination of the 22 individuals, which included University of Missouri-Rolla students and a professor, law enforcement officials, a civilian and staff members from the Phelps County Regional Medical Center.

Those individuals were quarantined in the Physics Building on campus, but decontamination procedures were unnecessary once the Missouri National Guard Seventh Civil Support Team determined the white substance was powdered sugar and posed no threat to anyone�s health. The individuals were released late Tuesday afternoon.

A Call For Help

More than 12 agencies -- federal and state -- were called on for their expertise. The FBI, Missouri National Guard, Missouri State Highway Patrol, Fort Leonard Wood Explosives Operations Division, Rolla Homeland Security Response Team, Rolla HazMat Team, Rolla Fire Department Weapons of Mass Destruction Team, Rolla Fire and Rescue, Phelps County Sheriff�s Department, Phelps County Regional Medical Center, Phelps/Maries County Health Department, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, and others were called to the scene to assist.

Teams were first sent into the Civil Engineering Building to look for a possible bomb. Later, the white powdery substance would be analyzed. The air flow in the building was shut off as a precaution until the substance was identified. The Phelps County Regional Medical Center prepared for a mass-casualty event.

�We have to first make sure there isn�t a bomb and then we can figure out what the white substance is,� Kearse said at the 8:30 a.m. press conference. Law enforcement officers and drug dogs swept the building several times to make sure there wasn�t a bomb, which took the majority of the day. Lt. Col. David Boyle, commander of the Missouri National Guard Seventh Civil Support Team, and the Rolla HazMat Team were involved in checking the premises for bombs and identifying any hazardous materials. The powdery substance was tested on-site and also sent to the Missouri State Health Laboratory.

The roads near the Civil Engineering Building, including 12th to 16th streets along Pine Street, Vichy Road and St. Pat�s Road, were blocked off with detour signs. Classes at the university were first canceled until 10 a.m., but canceled for the entire day when it became clear the situation wouldn�t be resolved until much later in the afternoon.

Although there was still a lot of work to be done and several questions without answers, at about 9 a.m. Kearse assured people in the Rolla community that they were safe and the situation was under control. By 3 p.m. the bomb threat had been officially dismissed by the Fort Leonard Wood Explosive Operations Division.

�We have determined that this is not a terrorist attack and we have everything under control,� he said.

The Investigation Begins

Looking for answers and more information, law enforcement officials questioned Venkatramolla�s roommates who were living with him in an off-campus apartment. Although his roommates were interviewed, police believe Venkatramolla, who they describe as a �distraught and depressed student,� was acting alone.

�We believe these are the actions of one individual with a personal vendetta,� Kearse said. �The suspect has given us several different stories, but it is our belief [at this time] that he has been distraught over school work. This particular individual was apparently under a lot of stress and was depressed.�

Venkatramolla was supposedly upset after receiving the first two �B� grades he�d ever gotten and falling behind in his classes due to illness, according to a source who wished to remain anonymous.

Although it�s still not clear what Venkatramolla was doing in the Civil Engineering Building at 2:30 a.m., graduate students and professors have access to the building 24 hours a day with the use of their I.D. cards. It�s common to find students studying there and using the building�s computer labs late at night or very early in the morning.

University of Missouri-Rolla students were shocked to learn the university was shut down due to a bomb threat when they woke up Tuesday morning. Prasenjit Shil, who is pursuing his doctorate degree in engineering management, couldn�t get to his apartment located across from the Civil Engineering Building when he was coming back into town from St. Louis yesterday morning.

�At first I thought they were just doing some sort of road construction,� he said. �But then somebody said we weren�t having classes because of a bomb scare. I think it�s really strange.�

And shocking, according to University of Missouri-Rolla student Pradeep Tipaji.

�When I heard the news I thought, �Oh my god, there�s a bomb?! Where is the bomb?!�� he said. �I guess you just never know what�s going to happen.�

Although they�re international students, Shil and Tipaji aren�t too concerned about facing a negative backlash from the community.

�I�ve been in Rolla for five years and Rolla has been very welcoming to international students,� Shil said. �I don�t think the actions of this student will reflect negatively on the whole international community. Life will go on.�

Even so, other students are still concerned.

�We�re all under a lot of stress and we all have hard classes, but I can�t believe somebody would actually do that,� student Adam Ryley said. �No matter how much stress you�re under you can�t do something like that and get away with it. It makes me concerned that the school isn�t checking on students as much as they should be.�

Covering All The Bases

Although the bomb threat and the anthrax scare turned out to be false by day�s end, Rolla Mayor William S. Jenks III reiterated the importance of taking the necessary precautions and �covering all the bases.�

�Our first priority is the safety of the students and the people in the community,� Jenks said. �In a post 9/11 world, we just can�t take any chances. We have to err on the side of caution. I commend Captain Kearse and all the other law enforcement agencies who have been involved. This operation has gone very well.�

Kearse added his own thanks and appreciation to all those involved in the operation.

�All the agencies worked together diligently to get this issue resolved,� he said, naming more than a dozen agencies that responded to the incident. �The level of cooperation on this has been outstanding. I�m very proud of everyone involved. We just couldn�t take a chance on this. We had to take a cautious approach.�

Kearse said even though it took quite some time to resolve the issue, it was worth it.

�It was a great training day for us,� he said. �We can�t anticipate everything, but we are as well trained as we can be.�

Carney agreed.

�I�m glad no one was injured, but I�m sorry that it happened,� he said at a 2:30 p.m. press conference. �I wish it had not happened, but we learned a lot and now we�ll be even better prepared for something that hopefully won�t happen in the future.�

For law enforcement officials, the investigation continues. For University of Missouri-Rolla students, faculty and staff, it�s back to school and business as usual today.