A 19-year-old University of Miami student, Elizabeth Burkly, was arrested and charged with issuing a bomb threat on social media, targeting the Cox Science Building on campus. The threat was discovered on Instagram, with a photo captioned, “Take in the view cause I’m bombing it tomorrow,” according to WSVN.
The FBI was alerted to the concerning post by Meta, leading investigators to Burkly's account and IP address. They located her on campus, where she reportedly, eventually confessed to the allegation when confronted by authorities in her dorm. Police subsequently took her into custody, and she was transported to the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, as WSVN reported.
Burkly is facing charges of written threats to kill or do bodily injury. When FBI agents met with her at her apartment in Coral Gables, her initial response to their presence was "not really," indicating a lack of understanding as to why they were there. This detail emerged in an arrest report cited by NBC Miami.
Details of Burkly's statement and confession have been redacted from the report. However, records indicated that her bond was set at $3,500 and attorney information was not available at the time of reporting, as NBC Miami added. The arrest brings to light issues of online threat assessment and the role social media companies play, in observation of such cases.
