Dallas College’s El Centro campus was evacuated Thursday morning after a reported bomb threat that police later said was a false alarm.
Officers responded around 8:30 a.m. to the downtown campus in the 800 block of Main Street, police spokesman Corbin Rubinson said.
The high school operates at the El Centro campus through a partnership between Dallas College and Dallas ISD.
Students began receiving emergency alerts from Dallas College shortly before 9 a.m., warning them not to enter or leave buildings on campus. Those who weren’t on campus were told to stay away.
College students Alika Martinez and Ely Raaimez, both 18, were in class taking a test when they were told to evacuate.
“They just told us to go as far as we could,” Raaimez told The Dallas Morning News.
The two walked with a large group of Dallas ISD and college students until they reached an area near the Dallas County Historical Foundation building.
Martinez said they waited about 30 minutes before receiving another alert announcing the emergency was over.
Rubinson said officers were helping search the campus as a precaution. Police later said a preliminary investigation determined that the information provided about the threat was unfounded.
Dallas College also sent an all-clear alert to students, and an announcement that the emergency was over could be heard over speakers near the campus.
The police response disrupted traffic downtown, but Main, North Lamar, Elm and North Market streets have since reopened, police said. Students and staff have returned to campus.