Suspect in threat to ‘blow up’ TCU is ex-student with demands of chancellor over race

The man accused of threatening to “blow up” TCU’s campus Thursday morning is a 25-year-old former student at the Fort Worth university who recently posted on social media a list of demands of the chancellor to address how minority students are treated.

Jail records and an incident report identify the man as Ahmad Tyree Peterson-Adeyanju of Glenn Heights, south of Dallas. He faces charges of a terroristic threat and trespassing. Fort Worth police said they found a loaded gun in his vehicle just off West Berry Street but no explosives.

On Facebook, Adeyanju posted a letter in December that appears to reference grievances against TCU Chancellor Victor Boschini.

The demands include that Boschini apologize to Adeyanju and his family in writing, that he create a full-ride scholarship for a low-income Black student to study abroad, and that he create a comprehensive policy “enabling all minority students at TCU to know their basic rights and privileges to the universities resources while academically enrolled.”

The list also demands that Boschini either tour the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art with Adeyanju or take him to a performance by comedian Dave Chappelle “for diversity training.”

Shortly before posting his letter, he posted a poem “based off my experience at Texas Christian University” and called it “If Larry Hoover went to school,” perhaps referencing the convicted Chicago gang leader.

“Claim I’m a national security threat, But where is the proof? I never got caught selling drugs, I’m a smooth dude; They don’t like people like me, I can tell by their moves,” the poem says.

“It’s rare if you see someone of my caliber, I come out every blue moon; Never sweet in these sour streets, You know I keep that tool; KKKarens watching my every step, You know I love TCU.”

He ends it with, “I’m just poor kid named Ahmad Adeyanju.”

Another post on Facebook shows that Adeyanju tagged himself as being on the university’s campus on Wednesday afternoon.

Other posts on the page talk about Adeyanju participating in the Model United Nations with a student who sued TCU over allegations of racial discrimination. Adeyanju wrote that “structural covert racism” was embedded at TCU, and he was “persecuted for standing on principle,” but that he helped raise money for marginalized students to study abroad and “nevertheless black culture advanced, at the expense of ourselves, because we stuck together.”

Adeyanju was a paid intern for the city of DeSoto in 2021, which included shadowing the city manager, according to what he posted on Facebook at the time thanking DeSoto leaders for the experience. “I’m extremely grateful to have applied my college education, from TCU, to help pay it forward and create opportunities in my hometown of DeSoto, Texas.”

The incident Thursday began around 9 a.m. A crisis intervention team notified the Fort Worth police SWAT team that a man on campus was threatening TCU staff, police said in a news release. The man, identified in the report as Adeyanju, refused to get out of his vehicle and at one point threatened to blow up the campus, according to police.

Police said SWAT found the loaded gun under the driver’s seat.

TCU officials posted an alert on Twitter shortly after 9 a.m. advising students and the public to avoid the area around the Harrison Administration Building due to “an active emergency.” Campus police were also onsite.

In a follow-up tweet around 9:50 a.m., TCU officials referred to an “individual in distress” and said police were there to help. They said there was no threat to the community but asked people to avoid the area around the Harrison Administration Building and the area around Wabash and Berry streets.

TCU posted on Twitter around 3 p.m. that “the individual was taken into custody without incident.”

Malini Basu, a reporter with Star-Telegram media partner WFAA-TV, said on Twitter that a building at TCU was evacuated due to a trespasser who was in a car on campus.

When members of SWAT arrived, the suspect surrendered without further incident, police said.

Adeyanju remained in jail Thursday evening. It’s unclear whether he has an attorney.

Shortly after 12:30 p.m. TCU officials gave an all clear on Twitter, but reminded the public that the campus remained closed Thursday due to weather.

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