University officials evacuated Weaver-Densford Hall after receiving a bomb threat via an e-mail sent Friday that specifically mentioned a bomb in the building.

The e-mail was sent to the help desk of the Office of Information Technology at 9:05 a.m. Police said the threat was “deemed to have merit.”

“If we’re taking action on a threat, we have to believe there is something there,” Deputy Police Chief Steve Johnson said Friday.

Areas surrounding the building, including a bus stop, were roped off but were reopened early Friday afternoon.

No other buildings were evacuated and classes at the University remained in session.

Officials confirmed they didn’t find anything suspicious in their searches of the premises.

“We’ve got everybody out there and we’re getting a number of bomb-detection dogs,” Johnson said during the investigation.

At a Friday address, University Police Chief Greg Hestness and Vice President of University Services Kathleen O’Brien said there is nothing indicating a relationship between the bomb threat and the ongoing union strike.

University officials sent out an emergency e-mail at approximately 11:15 a.m. Friday notifying students about the threat.

Lucy Hodge, a pharmacy graduate student was told to evacuate her Weaver-Densford lab at 11:15 a.m. by facilities management personnel.

About 30 minutes later, she returned and tried to find some way to re-enter the lab.

The blocked area extended down to Delaware Street, behind Weaver-Densford. Pedestrians walking in front of Weaver-Densford had to cross over the north side of Washington Avenue.

Nursing professor Jessie Daniels evacuated her entire class around 11:15 a.m. She said there was no specific mention of a bomb to her University officials.

“They just said to evacuate. No one was saying anything,” Daniels said.

Daniels and her class gathered near Espresso Exposé on Washington Avenue and adjusted class plans to compensate for the evacuation.

Last spring, police evacuated eight buildings in the mall area after receiving a threatening note discovered by a student in a bathroom.

No explosives were found and the buildings were eventually reopened.