A suspicious package was thrown from a car onto the perimeter road outside campus and was reported by an NYU Abu Dhabi staff member at about 3 p.m. on March 29. Public Safety alerted the Abu Dhabi police, who arrived within about ten minutes to inspect the package.

Senior Bobby Haynes was alerted by a friend of police arrival and made his way to the A6 dorms, from which police activities could be seen. On his way, Haynes saw security guards clearing out the A6 compound.

Haynes recalled several trucks in the area and what appeared to be an Explosive Ordnance Disposal robot.

“A bomb robot was examining the packages, there was a drone recording ... I think that was from the media team,” said Haynes. “After the drone was done, they brought a dog from the canine unit to sniff the package and someone in a full bomb suit to inspect it.”

At 5 p.m., student residents of A6 received an email about police activities from Maria Funcheon, Assistant Residential College Director. The email noted that police activity below A6 might be visible from some students’ windows, and reminded students that both taking and posting photos of police activity is illegal in the UAE.

However, the email did not explain why police were on campus. Haynes did not discover the details of the incident until the following day.

On March 30, Bassam Sayad, Associate Vice Chancellor for Operations and Chief Operating Officer, told students in a school-wide email that Abu Dhabi police inspected the contents of the package and determined that it only contained childcare items. Sayad wrote that, “At no time during this incident was anyone at risk.” He also asked students to refrain from taking photos or videos that involve UAE law enforcement.

In correspondence with The Gazelle, Robert Titus, Associate Director of Security Operations, confirmed that the incident was not a bomb scare.

“This was not a bomb scare, but a report of a suspicious package. Once local authorities arrived, they quickly determined that the bag posed no threat to the university community,” wrote Titus.

Senior Jack Dickson was asked to leave the A6 compound by security guards due to police activity on 29 March.

“[I] walked back over above the dining hall and saw the bomb response truck and police cars. It looked like some emergency response vehicle, not an ambulance,” said Dickson.

He was also told by other students that police were responding to a bomb scare. Due to confusion during the event, Haynes commented that all students, not just the residents of A6, should have been alerted of police activities at the time.

Titus and Sayad both repeated that the incident was not a bomb scare and that nobody was at risk.

“Nonetheless, this situation is an important reminder that we should all stay vigilant and observant to our surroundings, and to report anything suspicious to NYUAD Public Safety,” wrote Titus.