Social media posts put UHart campus on alert; student banned

WEST HARTFORD, CT (WFSB) - A student was banned from the University of Hartford campus following concerning posts made to social media, the school confirmed on Monday morning.

The student was identified as Tenuun Enkhbat, 18, of Virginia.

Hartford police held a news conference at 11 a.m. on Monday to talk about the student’s arrest.

Public safety officials told Channel 3 that they launched an investigation after they were made aware of the anonymous posts around 11:30 p.m. on Sunday.

He is accused of making those threatening comments on the anonymous social media app called Yik Yak. He told investigators that it was a joke and went too far.

Enkhbat told police, “He has heard other students on campus talk like that so he did the same as a joke. Enkhbat stated that he believes it went too far and was apologetic for the distress it caused.”

The threat, according to Hartford police, mentioned shooting a dorm and made other firearm references.

“Working in partnership with local police, the account information was determined, and a student was identified,” said Molly Polk, UHart vice president for marketing and enrollment. “The student was arrested without incident and has been banned from campus pending conduct proceedings. We take these actions and concerns seriously, and we are appreciative of the assistance and response from local law enforcement.”

Yik Yak is an app used by college students, which allows them to share messages anonymously.

Parents said they did not received any communication from the school about the investigation.

Polk noted that there is no impact to classes.

“All University operations are normal [Monday],” she said.

Enkhbat was found on campus overnight and charged with first-degree threatening. His bond was set at $150,000 and he is due in court on March 6.

Police said he was cooperative with investigators and that he defined his actions as a joking in manner.

“So the message here is we were able to vet these threats pretty quickly and kinda come to the conclusion that they weren’t imminent. And there was some joking nature involved. However, we’re going to treat them all the same. It’s not going to be tolerated and I think the school would say the same thing is there’s zero tolerance for any language like that,” said Sgt. Chris Mastroianni with the Hartford Police Department.

This is a developing story. Stay with Eyewitness News for updates.

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