Wells Hall on Michigan State University's campus will be closed for the rest of the week after "unknown chemicals" were reported in the building Monday morning.
A message sent by the university at 9:50 a.m. on Tuesday announced the closure. It read, "Wells Hall is CLOSED for the remainder of this week, through May 1. Additional information was received early this morning suggesting further evaluation of the building is needed. There continues to be no known threat to the campus community. Students who still have finals scheduled in the building will be notified by the Registrar's Office of an alternate exam location."
MSU Police told WKAR News on Monday that the chemicals were removed from Wells Hall, but have not been identified.
Wells Hall was evacuated Monday morning as a safety precaution following the discovery of unidentified chemical substances inside the building. The call was made to Michigan State University Police.
The university issued an emergency alert to the campus community at approximately 10:20 a.m. regarding the situation.
The email from the university stated, "Due to the presence of some unknown chemicals that were located in the building, Wells Hall has been evacuated as a safety precaution while public safety officials work to properly identify the chemical. There is no known threat to campus and these actions are a precaution. Please do not enter Wells Hall and avoid the area until further notice."
Around an hour after the initial message, groups of students stood outside the building. Many were studying inside and others were taking finals when they got the alert.
MSU student Andi Wertz said she was in the middle of taking her French 201 exam when her professor stepped outside the classroom, came back inside and told everyone they needed to leave.
"People were nervous getting out here but now we're just kind of joking around like 'oh I hope my final gets canceled," she said.
She said she is unsure where, when and if her final will be rescheduled.
On Monday evening, the university sent out a message that said Wells Hall would reopen on Tuesday, at 7:00 a.m.
