The 43 minority students who moved into a hotel Thursday after someone on their Christian campus sent them racist notes through the university mail checked out of their temporary home Sunday, returning to their dormitories as law enforcement continued their investigation.
Trinity College officials moved dozens of minority students off the suburban Deerfield campus Thursday night and into a hotel for safety after three minority students received racially motivated, threatening notes.
"We took those precautions so minority students would feel safe and secure," said Gary Cantwell, a college spokesman.
Some of those students returned to their homes in the Chicago area or stayed with friends and faculty members because of the timing of the threats.
The letters came within days of the anniversaries of the shootings at Columbine High School, the Oklahoma City bombing and Adolf Hitler's birthday.
The third one threatened a Black female student with physical violence, Bannockburn Police Chief Kevin Tracz said.
Investigators have interviewed about a dozen people, but did not have a suspect Sunday.
"We're as anxious as everybody to resolve this situation," Tracz told the Chicago Defender Sunday. "Everyone would feel better if we had a suspect. I'd even feel better."
Ross Rice, an FBI spokesman in Chicago, told the Defender there was nothing new in the case.
"No arrests have been made, no charges have been filed," Rice said. "Our investigation is ongoing."
Meanwhile, campus life is getting back to normal, said Cantwell.
"If all the students aren't back on campus yet, they will be by tomorrow," he told the Defender. "There will be regular classes as there were on Friday."
He said that police told him they feel the risk has been "minimized to a manageable level."
Security on and around the suburban campus has been heightened to include 24-hour patrols.
On Sunday, an additional security guard parked his vehicle just south of the campus' driveway entrance, checking cars and identification.
No media was allowed on the grounds to take photographs or to speak with students.
"We want to respect their privacy," said Cantwell. "And there will be restricted access to the campus, at least through Tuesday."
Trinity College, which is affiliated with the Evangelical Free Church of America, sits on the campus of Trinity International University. The college, located 25 miles north of Chicago, has nearly 1,000 students, 700 of whom live on campus. About 26 percent of the student population is made up of minorities.
"It's a very happily diverse campus and this incident is very much out of character for the student body," Cantwell said. "Diversity is one of the things we value, as it is a reflection of the kingdom of God."
The three letters were addressed to specific students. The third one mentioned seeing a young Black woman at a devotional service on campus, included a threat of violence and indicated there was a weapon, Tracz said.
Police also believe it's most likely the letters were written by one student.
An FBI lab is analyzing them and the results are expected within two weeks, Tracz said.
Cantwell insisted that the communications be referred to as notes, because they were handwritten on notebook paper and not sent through conventional mail.
Associated Press writer Carla K. Johnson contributed to this report.
Article copyright REAL TIMES Inc.
Photograph (Gregory Waybright and Watson Jones)
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