University police are maintaining a heightened state of alert in the wake of U.S.-led air strikes in Afghanistan Sunday, but University Police Department (UPD) Director Bob Wiatt said Texas A&M is an unlikely target for terrorists.
“Texas A&M is not a target, even though some people think we should be because we’re so important,” Wiatt said. “Come to A&M, relax, enjoy and don’t worry.”
UPD has taken extra security precautions since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in New York City and Washington, D.C., Wiatt said, including additional officers and surveillance equipment at the George Bush Presidential Library and Museum. The museum would be the most likely target on campus, Wiatt said, and it was temporarily closed after the Sept. 11 attacks.
“I’ve been in contact with all the people that know anything about anything, including the FBI who are in contact with the CIA, and if there was even a glimmer of evidence that indicated we might be a target, they would have advised me,” Wiatt said.