No-one was sure if it was an empty threat, but the University of Otago campus was unusually quiet yesterday after an anonymous online gun warning.
The university said it would be ''business as usual'', but there were noticeably fewer students around the campus, some class numbers were down, eateries had not opened, and few people were in the Information Services Building.
The campus would normally be a hive of activity at this time of year, as students attend final lectures, labs and tutorials for the year, and pack out the central library to prepare for imminent exams.
Then, around lunchtime yesterday, a bomb threat forced the evacuation of a building at Victoria University's campus in Wellington, although nothing suspicious was discovered.
By late yesterday there was no indication whether the risk at the Otago campus remained.
Specialist police staff were still investigating.
The threats certainly could not have come at a worse time in terms of the disruption caused.
The Otago incident has highlighted once again the power of social media - and how it can be used for ill: to spread fear, hatred and panic, and how easy it is to do that anonymously, with little fear of recrimination.
The threat could have been made by someone overseas, or someone living locally.
It could have been a prank, it could still be genuine.
The online post warned people not to go to the university yesterday, and stated they could ''expect a shooting'' similar to massacre at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in 2007, where 32 students and teachers were killed.
It referenced tactics in other shootings, and was accompanied by an image of a pistol.
It came in the wake of another mass shooting in the US last week; nine students at Umpqua Community College, in Oregon, were shot.
A New Zealander narrowly escaped injury.
After many similar mass attacks, it has been found the perpetrator posted their intentions online.
Sadly, several events of the recent and more distant past have shown Dunedin is not immune to gun violence.
Students had every right to be wary, and the police are still treating the incident seriously.
The threat came in the same week in which the police union said firearms had become ''ridiculously easy'' for offenders to obtain in this country and the number of weapons in circulation in the criminal fraternity was increasing.
Police Association president Greg O'Connor said ''gun-toting crimes are becoming the rule rather than the exception''.
Most New Zealanders would be shocked to think that is the case.
We still - despite incidents to the contrary - like to think we live in a comparatively safe part of the world.
Most do not favour the idea of arming our police force.
But this incident has probably shocked the city out of its complacency to some extent.
The university is the jewel in the city's crown, its reach is international.
It is a natural target for someone wanting to do harm or cause inconvenience or upset.
Society cannot necessarily prevent that, and that is where some of the fear lies, that a horrific event could come out of the blue, that there is nothing we can do.
However, we can and must learn from others.
If the events in the US have taught us something, it is surely that - when it comes to firearms at least - containment (through strict purchasing, licensing and continued oversight mechanisms) is the only policy.
It is never too late for an examination of our current rules and regulation around firearms, to ensure they stand up to scrutiny.
And it is important we support scrutiny of and regulations around nefarious content posted in the online environment, which in many ways has become the new ''Wild West''.
For there is a vast gulf between the arguments for freedom of speech and the reality of spreading fear, panic and disruption by making serious and criminal threats to the lives of others.
