Campus Alert Archive
AHC

Phone Bomb Threat Shuts Down Santa Maria Campus the Monday Before Thanksgiving; All Clear at 5:20 PM

CAbomb threatemergency notificationhigh confidence
Confirmed HoaxDetermined to be a hoax. The institutional response is documented because it reveals how the alert system performed under a perceived real threat.

At 2:21 p.m. on November 24, 2025, Allan Hancock College in Santa Maria received a phone bomb threat targeting its main campus, triggering an immediate evacuation and cancellation of all afternoon classes and services. Officers from AHC Police and the Santa Maria Police Department swept all campus buildings and found no evidence of any explosive device. An all-clear was issued at 5:20 p.m., with classes resuming normally the following Tuesday.

Alerts
2
Response
—
Killed
0
Injured
0
Institution
Allan Hancock College
Community College · CA
AHC Emergency Alert
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

2 messages in sequence

Some alert texts below are approximate reconstructions from news coverage, not confirmed verbatim transcripts. Reconstructed texts are shown in italic with a dashed border. Verified verbatim texts have a solid border and are marked accordingly.

INITIAL ALERTSMS
Approximate reconstruction305 chars
AHC Emergency Alert: A bomb threat has been received at the Santa Maria campus. All students, faculty, and staff must evacuate immediately. Do not use vehicles. All classes and services are canceled for the remainder of the day. Law enforcement is on site. Do not return to buildings until further notice.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Reconstructed, not verbatim: KSBY and the Santa Maria Times confirm a phone bomb threat was received at 2:21 p.m. PST on November 24, 2025, triggering a campus-wide evacuation and cancellation of all afternoon classes and services.
Allan Hancock College is a California community college serving Santa Maria and the central coast; the campus is a commuter campus with open public access, requiring full evacuation across an entire multi-building complex.
ALL CLEARSMS+2h 59m
Approximate reconstruction261 chars
AHC Emergency Alert: All Clear. Law enforcement has completed a thorough sweep of all campus buildings and facilities and no evidence of any explosive device has been found. The campus is safe. Classes and services will resume as normal on Tuesday, November 25.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Reconstructed all-clear; the official AHC public affairs page and multiple local outlets confirm the all-clear was issued at approximately 5:20 p.m. PST on November 24, 2025, approximately three hours after the threat was received.
SMPD continues to investigate the source of the phone call. Allan Hancock's campus remained closed for the rest of November 24, with normal operations resuming November 25.
Context

Background

On the afternoon of Monday, November 24, 2025, the day before Thanksgiving, Allan Hancock College received a bomb threat via phone call at its Santa Maria main campus at approximately 2:21 p.m. PST. The campus was immediately evacuated and all afternoon classes and services were canceled. Officers from the Allan Hancock College Police Department and the Santa Maria Police Department conducted a thorough sweep of all campus buildings and facilities, finding no evidence of any explosive device and issuing an all-clear at approximately 5:20 p.m. Classes and services resumed as normal on Tuesday, November 25. KCLU and CalCoastNews also reported the evacuation, noting it disrupted the final Monday of classes before the Thanksgiving break for thousands of commuter students. The Santa Maria Police Department continued to investigate the source of the call. Allan Hancock College is a California community college serving Santa Maria, Lompoc, and the surrounding Central Coast communities, with an enrollment of approximately 12,000 students per semester.
Outcome
A thorough sweep of all campus buildings and facilities found no evidence of any explosive device. The Santa Maria Police Department was assigned to investigate the source of the threat. Classes and services resumed normally on Tuesday, November 25, 2025.
Provenance

Sources

  1. News
    Update: Allan Hancock College campus in Santa Maria evacuated due to bomb threat - KSBY
    ksby.com
  2. News
    All-clear issued following bomb threat at Hancock Santa Maria campus - Santa Maria Times
    santamariatimes.com
  3. News
    Bomb threat prompts evacuation of Central Coast college campus - KCLU
    kclu.org
  4. News
    Bomb threat leads to evacuation of Allan Hancock College - CalCoastNews
    calcoastnews.com
  5. Official
    All Clear Issued following Bomb Threat at AHC Santa Maria Campus - Allan Hancock College Public Affairs
    hancockcollege.edu
Tags
bomb-threatevacuationcommunity-collegecaliforniasanta-mariacentral-coastthanksgivingemergency-notificationconfirmed-hoaxHoax
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion