GAINESVILLE, Fla. – A 24-year-old woman is accused of making a bomb threat against a University of Florida building last week because she wanted to leave work and have some “me” time, university police said.
Jessica Ward, who is not a UF faculty, staff member or student, was working at the Java Hut Coffee Kiosk in the New Engineering Building last Wednesday when she made a bomb threat against the building, according to the University of Florida Police Department.
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Staff members found a handwritten note in the women’s restroom on the first floor. The building was immediately evacuated, classes were canceled and the University of Florida Police Department set up a perimeter around the building, officials said.
UF officials said the building underwent an "intense sweep with police officers and K-9s," but the UF Police Department discovered no evidence of anything suspicious and cleared the scene.
Police said the investigation was quickly narrowed to a small list of possible suspects, and after interviews, Ward admitted that she wrote the threat so she could leave work and have some “me” time.
Ward was arrested Tuesday and charged with one count of making a false report about a bomb involving state-owned property, which is a second-degree felony.