Elmhurst College to reopen Wednesday with extra security, after threatening graffiti found

ELMHURST, Ill. (WLS) -- Elmhurst College will reopen Wednesday after being closed for two days because of an ongoing investigation into several incidents of vandalism involving hateful messages and threats found on campus.

On Sunday night, threatening graffiti was found in a bathroom stall, forcing the campus to close on Monday. During the course of their investigation, authorities found another threatening graffiti message Monday afternoon in a residence hall, which promoted the campus to remain closed on Tuesday.

Sarahi Gama and Alejandra Reyes were among the students who discovered the first incident inside in their resident hall last Monday.

"We were both cooking in the kitchen and (Sarahi) told me about the message she received," Reyes recalled. "I went to go check the bathroom and that's when I saw the writing in the mirror.

"It was on the mirror, it said KKK, 666, a pentagram and no gays and lesbians allowed," Gama recalled.

Officials said it was unclear if the two incidents were connected, but police said the threats didn't appear to be credible.

The Elmhurst Police Department said they will set up campus patrols and additional campus security will be on campus as the college reopens Wednesday.

Officials announced Tuesday that additional campus security officers will be present, and Elmhurst police will patrol the campus.

Elmhurst College officials released a statement regarding the incidents:

"The decision to close campus yesterday and today was not made lightly, but your safety and well-being are paramount to creating the kind of campus where we all can thrive...Closing the campus has given us an important opportunity to focus on the investigation, even as additional vandalism was discovered."