Campus Alert Archive
A-State

Simultaneous 7:15 AM Bomb Threats at A-State's Library and Student Union Came During a Regional Swatting Surge

ARbomb threatemergency notificationmedium confidence

On July 20, 2024, Arkansas State University in Jonesboro sent two text alerts within two minutes: one at 7:15 AM CDT warning of a bomb threat at Dean B. Ellis Library, and a second at 7:17 AM for the Carl R. Reng Student Union. Police and K-9 units cleared both buildings and issued an all-clear at approximately 10:00 AM CDT; no credible threat was found. The university noted Jonesboro's 911 center had received an 'unusually high number' of swatting reports during the preceding week.

Alerts
3
Response
—
Killed
—
Injured
—
Institution
Arkansas State University
Public R2 · AR
A-State Alert
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

3 messages in sequence · 2 verified verbatim

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
Verified verbatimKAIT-8 and KATV quoted this verbatim as the A-State Alert text sent at 7:15 AM CDT on July 20, 2024 regarding the Dean B. Ellis Library bomb threat141 chars
URGENT A bomb threat for Dean B. Ellis Library in Arkansas State University is under investigation. Evacuate immediately and avoid this area.
Verbatim text confirmed by multiple local news outlets (KAIT-8, KATV, THV11) that directly quoted this A-State Alert; all sources reproduce the 'URGENT' prefix and the specific library name
Arkansas State is in the Central Time zone (CDT, UTC-5 during summer); Jonesboro is in northeast Arkansas.
Notable that the alert begins with 'URGENT' rather than 'A-State Alert:' — distinguishing it from the file's original reconstructed format
INITIAL ALERTSMS+2 min
Verified verbatimKAIT-8 and KATV quoted this verbatim as the A-State Alert text sent at 7:17 AM CDT on July 20, 2024 regarding the Student Union bomb threat133 chars
URGENT A bomb threat for Student Union in Arkansas State University is under investigation. Evacuate immediately and avoid this area.
Verbatim text confirmed by multiple local news outlets (KAIT-8, KATV) that directly quoted this second A-State Alert; sent two minutes after the library alert
The near-simultaneous dual-building threats were consistent with the regional swatting surge ASU acknowledged in its communication.
Uses 'Student Union' rather than the full 'Carl R. Reng Student Union' name — consistent with SMS brevity
ALL CLEARSMS+2h 44m
Approximate reconstruction164 chars
A-State Alert: Regular activities in both the Carl R. Reng Student Union and the Dean B. Ellis Library can resume. No credible threat has been discovered on campus.

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

Reconstructed: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported the all-clear text was sent at 9:59 AM CDT, with KAIT-8 reporting it as approximately 10:00 AM CDT, after police and K-9 units cleared both buildings.
This is a true all-clear: it explicitly lifted restrictions on both buildings and stated no credible threat was found.
Context

Background

Two near-simultaneous bomb threat alerts disrupted Arkansas State University's summer operations on July 20, 2024, with A-State sending texts at 7:15 AM and 7:17 AM CDT targeting the Dean B. Ellis Library and Carl R. Reng Student Union, respectively. According to KAIT-8, law enforcement and K-9 units responded to both buildings and found no credible threat. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported the all-clear was issued at 9:59 AM CDT after a roughly two-hour sweep. Arkansas State's communications noted the Jonesboro E-911 center had received an 'unusually high number' of swatting reports over the preceding week, placing this incident in the context of a regional surge in hoax threats. THV11 described the incident as an 'overnight bomb threat' due to the early morning timing on a Saturday. The dual-building, two-minute-apart threat pattern closely resembles the coordinated July 2022 North Dakota campus bomb threats, suggesting a similar tactic of rapid-fire calls to generate maximum disruption.
Outcome
Law enforcement and K-9 units searched both the Dean B. Ellis Library and the Carl R. Reng Student Union and found no credible threat or explosive devices. An all-clear was issued around 9:59 to 10:00 AM CDT. The incident was part of a regional surge in swatting reports in Jonesboro that week.
Provenance

Sources

  1. News
    Campus gives the 'all clear' following bomb threat at Arkansas State University - KAIT-8
    kait8.com
  2. News
    ASU issues all-clear after bomb threats investigated at library, student union - Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
    arkansasonline.com
  3. News
    Arkansas State University receives overnight bomb threat - THV11
    thv11.com
  4. News
    Update - Bomb Threat at ASU - Jonesboro Right Now
    jonesbororightnow.com
Tags
bomb-threatfalse-alarmarkansasswattingdual-buildingsummerevacuationk9-sweep2024
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion