FORT PIERCE, Fla. (CBS12) — A bomb threat that police said used a “similar format” to one reported at Martin County High School on Thursday prompted the closure and evacuation of Indian River State College’s Massey Campus on Friday.

CBS12 News attended a news conference with Fort Pierce police Maj. Michael Santiago, who said the bomb threats at the college and high school used a similar email format. He said law enforcement agencies are working together to determine where the emails originated.

“On the surface, it does seem similar. There are similarities in the email from today and the previous threats,” Santiago said.

The Martin County Sheriff’s Office confirmed on Friday that they are investigating Thursday’s threat and have reasons to believe it originated from Russia.

On Friday, Indian River State College staff members received an email containing a bomb threat. After a staff member opened the email and notified campus security, law enforcement responded, including the Fort Pierce Police Department, K-9 teams from the Port St. Lucie Police Department and Indian River County Sheriff’s Office, and the FBI.

Police said the buildings named in the email were searched first, and officers then began systematically searching the rest of the campus. Santiago said the campus had a light turnout Friday, which helped make the evacuation easier.

CBS12 News received a copy of an alert sent to students and staff, which stated:

“BOMB THREAT — A general search of the Massey Campus is underway. Several buildings, including the KSU, library and the A Building, have been evacuated and are being searched by law enforcement. As an additional precaution, the W Building has also been evacuated and is being searched.”

In a Facebook post, Indian River State College said:

“As a precautionary measure, the college president has elected to close the Massey Campus and directed all employees and students on the Massey Campus to work from home.”

The search was ongoing at the time of the news conference. Santiago said he believed classes would resume Monday but referred questions about reopening to the college.

Barbra Rubin-Perry, who was in one of the northwest buildings, recalls what she experienced during the evacuation.

“They said right away. They said it was a bomb scare. Now, I had been at 911; I panicked. I was the first one to grab my bag and go down the stairs. We’re not taking the elevator. Let’s run. And that’s what I did. Because on 911, that was a bomb scare. It’s terrifying. It’s frightening,” said Rubin-Perry.

Barbra says she was in lower Manhattan during the September 11th terrorist attack on the Twin Towers. She says ever since then, she’s taken these threats, credible or not, seriously.

“How many have we had in the last week? We can have three. Could be four, could be five, could be ten. One of them could be real,” Rubin-Perry said.

This isn’t the first recent bomb threat reported on the Treasure Coast. Fort Pierce Central High School was evacuated after receiving a bomb threat, and Martin County High School also received a bomb threat Thursday.