PITTSBURGH, April 23 (UPI) -- A group claiming to be the source of a rash of e-mailed bomb threats at the University of Pittsburgh said it was discontinuing its campaign.
The group, which called itself The Threateners, said in an e-mailed statement that university officials had agreed to withdraw a $50,000 reward offered for the arrest and conviction of the hoaxers.
"As our only demand has been met, our campaign is over with immediate effect," said the statement, which was obtained by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
The campus threats began Feb. 13, with the discovery of a handwritten threat in a science center bathroom. Numerous other threats were found on campus and the school began offering a reward on March 30, which triggered a change in the threat format and frequency to e-mail messages.
The Threateners claimed responsibility for the e-mailed threats, while denying a role in the earlier handwritten messages found on campus.
The Post-Gazette said the statement also claimed The Threateners did not include any individuals under investigation by police. "We'd like to point out that none of the people publicly identified as suspects, or 'persons of interest,' had any connection to us or to our campaign," the statement said.
The FBI last week searched the Cambria County home of Seamus Johnston, 22, and Katherine McCloskey, 56, a transgender couple who denied any connection to the threats.
