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Mas Basy Network

<p>The call to authorities about a bomb threat at USC originated from the psychiatric ward at County-USC Hospital, police sources said.<br><br>The caller had apparently reported various crimes earlier in the day, the sources said. He finally got the attention of authorities when he reported a “nuclear weapon” at the USC campus. <br><br>Dozens of Los Angeles police officers were dispatched as a precaution, and university officials shut down the Leavey Library and warned students and staff to stay away. Some nearby streets were&nbsp;closed.</p>
<p>Officials familiar with the investigation said police now believe that the call was a hoax. They cleared the campus about 1:30 p.m. </p>
<p>Law enforcement sources initially told The Times that the university received a call from someone claiming he had planted a bomb inside a campus building.&nbsp;However, those sources said they believed the caller was intoxicated and didn\'t think he actually planted a bomb.</p>
<p>Several students reported on Twitter that they had been ordered to stay inside their classrooms. </p>
<p>USC senior Meshay Brown, 22, said her journalism professor had been instructed by campus security to keep students in the classroom while police investigated the threat.</p>
<p>“We’re not sure if it’s a prank or if it’s for real, so we’re kind of scared,” she said. “We’re using our phones and Twitter to find out information because we don’t really have much.”</p>
<p>-- Andrew Blankstein and Kate Linthicum</p>
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