University Police are investigating comments posted last week on The Diamondback's website that threatened the lives of eight students featured in a recent article.
A suspect affiliated with the university has been identified and University Police Spokesman Paul Dillon said charges may be filed. He declined to release the suspect's name or connection to the university until the case is reviewed by the state attorney's office.
The four comments, posted last Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday under the name John A. Zelansky, targeted students profiled in the article "Noise Complaint," which described student residents at odds with their quiet-seeking neighbors. The commenter claimed to live near the students and said he'd shoot them if they continued making noise.
The students said the comments concerned them at first, but this weekend they still enjoyed their favorite weekend pasttime of playing Whiffle ball outside, even though it has resulted in multiple complaints.
"I mean it definitely scared us a little bit but for the most part we did what we normally do," said one of the housemates, Clif Frailey.
Frailey hypothesized the threats were "just some kid trying to be funny," but Dillon did not say whether the suspect was a student, professor or staff member.
The Diamondback removed the comments from its website because they violated its policy against posting hateful or threatening material. Diamondback editors have cooperated with police and supplied detectives with the IP and e-mail addresses used to post the comments.
The police investigation ran into early delays as police went back and forth trying to decide whether the case lay in the hands of the university or Prince George's County Police.
The Diamondback first contacted University Police early Tuesday afternoon when the first threat appeared. University Police passed the case to county police because the poster claimed to be an off-campus College Park resident, but it returned to University Police more than a day later when the IP address was traced to a computer on the campus.
The Diamondback decided to delay the article's publication after University Police said its publication may hinder their investigation.
Frailey said he appreciates the police's efforts, in case the comments are more than a prank.
"We all just wanted to be sure because there are a lot of crazy people who live in this town," he wrote in an e-mail.
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