Bellarmine bomb scare a big bust

On Tuesday, March 14, at 3:00 p.m., Bellarmine Hall was evacuated. The fire alarm rang and many students half-heartedly left the building, assuming that this was merely a drill and would only take a few minutes.

They were wrong.

After convening outside for a few minutes, it became apparent that this was more than a fire drill. People were asked to back farther away from the building and rumors abounded. Vicky Frederick, '08, was chatting with her friends when one asked if Vicky thought this commotion was caused by her bike, which had the phrase "This bike is a pipe bomb" painted onto it. Frederick replied, "That's stupid. That would never happen."

Oh, but it did.

On the second floor of Bellarmine, there was a bike strapped to the railing with that inscription on it and someone had called it in to security. "This bike is a pipe bomb" is the name of a punk band based in Pensacola, Florida.

"I ride my bike when it's warm out three, four, five times a week," Frederick said. "And I always leave my bike in that spot."

Security officers monitored the scene and blocked every exit according to William Mattioli, Director of Public Safety. Philadelphia police were Then called to secure the situation.

Frederick says that most of the faculty around her were understanding and nice while they talked her through the situation. She cited only one security officer who took a nastier tone with her.

A police officer arrived and surveyed the scene. It was only when the chief of police came that the situation was deemed a misunderstanding and Frederick was told to take the paint off of her bike. She has since done so and no criminal charges were filed against her.

What Frederick found funny is that only two or three days prior to this incident she had read about the same thing happening to Patrick Hanlin, a student at Ohio State University. The only difference in situation was that his bike was pressure blasted and then pried open. Upon remembering this fact, Frederick worried about her bike.

Frederick sees this as a misunderstanding and is grateful that the situation turned out as well.