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Man charged after bomb threat at KU Edwards Campus

Posted at 5:59 PM, Jan 23, 2018
and last updated 2018-01-24 17:02:47-05

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A student was arrested after a bomb threat Tuesday night at the KU Edwards Campus in Overland Park, Kansas. 

On Wednesday, Richard Ellis was charged with aggravated criminal threat. He's being held on a $50,000 bond. 

Overland Park Officer John Lacy said a professor was taking roll Tuesday in the Regnier building on campus. When the professor called a student’s name, the student said he had a bomb and grenades in his back pockets. 

"Our [professor] said, ‘hey, introduce yourself.’ And he said, ‘Well, my name is Richard and I’ve got a bomb strapped on me and a bag of grenades,'" said Benjamin Holland, who was inside the classroom at the time. 

Holland told 41 Action News in an exclusive interview, his professor first asked the suspect if his students could leave the classroom. Then, the professor asked the man if he would walk with him through the halls. 

A father of four and a firefighter in St. Joseph, Holland said he decided to accompany his professor and the suspect because he "was going to do whatever [he] could to try and de-escalate the situation." 

"We just kept walking and I know my professor is looking for a security office, so he’s kind of leading us. As he’s looking, I said why don’t we just have a seat over there," said Holland. "There’s a table with two chairs and we have a seat. I start asking him a bunch of questions." 

Overland Park police arrested the suspect as 40 to 60 students were evacuated from the building. 

Officers did not find any explosives on the student, in his backpack or his car. Lacy said the bomb squad checked the building and did not find any explosives. 

Classes in the evening continued as normal.