Kyle Allen Smith, a 21-year-old student at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh (UWO), has been suspended after being charged with producing chemical weapons.
According to Fox 11 Oshkosh, Smith was arrested Oct. 31 for allegedly making ricin in his off-campus residence. UWO was pleased to say the campus community acted swiftly and accordingly and avoided this potential threat.
A senior biology student, Smith's suspension is pending an FBI investigation so many case details are legally sealed.
"We've had some incidents in the last few weeks having to do with safety on our campus and I wanted to say this is a very safe campus," UWO Chancellor Andrew Leavitt told Fox 11. "This is a very safe community."
Petra Roter, the school's chancellor for student affairs, said she first became wary of Smith after two of his professors mentioned some "red flag" comments the student made. The identity of the professors and most of what they heard Smith say is also legally protected amid the investigation.
The criminal report says Smith asked his professor about isolating ricin in castor beans and that he mentioned things like "borderline illegal" and "chemical weapons" in his questioning, Oshkosh Northwestern Media reported. Smith reportedly admitted to producing the lethal toxin, but said he was not planning to hurt anyone with it.
"The status of our students is protected by federal and state law," Roter told the news station. "We convened the behavioral intervention team, reviewed the situation, talked to folks and then alerted authorities."
UWO could not say for certain that Smith's ricin did not make it onto campus, but Roter said in a recent news conference the school is confident that the incident was contained before it ever had a chance to unfold, Oshkosh Northwestern Media reported.
"While this incident was serious, it was isolated and immediately contained," Roter said. "The university expresses its gratitude for the swift, thorough and tireless police work of our own University Police, the Oshkosh Police Department, community service officers, Oshkosh Fire Department hazmat teams, our Winnebago sheriff's office and district attorney's office, the National Guard Civil Support Team and, of course, the Federal Bureau of Investigation."
