Amanda Schwengel

A note was found in Smith Hall, and surrounding buildings were evacuated, said University police Lt. Chuck Miner. The buildings will be closed until 10 p.m. and classes in these buildings are canceled. Police also searched other buildings on the mall area.

University officials and police held a conference at about 3:00 p.m. today. University police Chief Greg Hestness said given the events of the past few days, officials decided they better take the threat seriously, considering the possibility of copy cats and hoaxes. "We know there have been other hoax situations. We understand that exists," Hestness said.

According to a statement from University spokesperson Dan Wolter, early this afternoon a professor in Smith Hall found a note that included a bomb threat against a number of buildings on the University of Minnesota campus. Hestness said the note named specific buildings and specific times of events.

Amanda Schwengel

At 12:14 police received the call about the threat; after examining the note, police decided to evacuate at 12:45. The building was locked by 1:15, Hestness said.

The University's Web site asks students in these buildings not to congregate in the mall area and to return to residence halls, though students in the area seem more confused than worried. At about 2:40 p.m. the University issued an "emergency announcement" e-mail, though by 3:25 p.m. some University students still hadn't received the e-mail. Vice President of University Services Kathleen O'Brien said she believed the e-mail was sent at about 1:15, but it takes that much time to get through the system. She said they were focusing on evacuation and safety in all of the buildings, before notifying the larger campus population.

Amanda Schwengel

Campus threats have forced lock-downs and evacuations at universities, high schools and middle schools in at least 10 states today. Several threats mentioned the Virginia Tech massacre.

The Minneapolis Police Department has dispatched bomb techs and canine units to check buildings for bombs. The University has set up safe places for students who have been displaced, sending them to Coffman Union, Willey Hall and the Recreation Center. Police were originally dispatched to the area at 12:15 p.m., Minneapolis Police Lt. Amelia Huffman said. Police say it's nothing more than a threat at this point.

Yellow tape ropes off sidewalks in the area. Many people were laying on the grass, sitting under trees, playing Frisbee and doing homework, seemingly unconcerned, until police began evacuating them at about 2:30 p.m.

At 2 p.m., Jean Kucera, an administrative assistant working in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication in Murphy Hall, just east of the mall, hadn't received any information from the University, neither phone calls nor e-mails. Carrie Meyer, a business analyst at the University, said in an e-mail that the University's emergency radios, similar to weather radios, went off at about 1:30.

Amanda Schwengel

The Gopherway from Johnston to Kolthoff has been closed, as well as Pleasant Street south of Johnston, and the Church Street parking ramp has been evacuated.

- Kevin Behr, Nina Petersen-Perlman, Karlee Weinmann, Vadim Lavrusik, Tiffany Clements, Mike Enright, Liz Cook and Katie Nelson and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

Keep checking mndaily.com for details and footage.