The University of Idaho will offer remote classes in addition to in-person classes for the rest of the fall semester, after students expressed fear of returning to campus after the Thanksgiving break — at least until the still-at-large killer suspected of murdering four university students has been captured.
School president Scott Green made the call on the university dropping in-person classes for the time being.
In a video distributed throughout campus, Green said, "We have heard from students with varied needs [and] some are not comfortable being back in Moscow [Idaho] until a suspect is in custody. Others are asking for in-person classes and the structure that life on campus brings."
Green added, "To meet the needs of all of our students, we have asked our faculty to work with their classes to allow each student to complete the semester either in person or remotely."
According to The Daily Mail, Moscow, Idaho, police recently walked back their initial claim of the campus being safe from the suspected killer.
On Nov. 13, Madison Mogen, 21, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and her boyfriend Ethan Chapin, 20, were found dead with multiple stab wounds in their off-campus home.
The "brutal murders" have "shaken our community to the core and brought fear and devastating pain to our Vandal family," said Green. "We are sad. We are angry. We are struggling to make any sense of it.
"... Even with these extra resources, it is unclear how long this investigation will take. That is deeply frustrating to all of us who are waiting for this criminal to be arrested," added Green.
As Newsmax chronicled Thursday, Moscow police are investigating a possible link between the murders committed in Idaho, and a similar homicide case from Oregon last year.
For the Oregon incident, a husband and wife were also stabbed in their beds while sleeping.
Police believe the Idaho attacks were a "targeted" effort, but also stopped short of explaining that rationale to the media.
Capt. Roger Lanier said, "You're going to have to trust us on that at this point because we're not going to release why we think that."
One possible explanation for the murders being linked: A long, military-grade knife was apparently used for both sets of killings, according to The Daily Mail.
The house belonging to Mogen, Goncalves, Kernodle, and Chapin is located close to the University of Idaho campus.
According to reports, the last time the house was up for rent, it was billed as "one of the top campus housing options available! – Sought after location within close walking/biking, driving distance to campus and Greek Row."
© 2023 Newsmax. All rights reserved.