Campus Alert Archive
BC

A Classroom Argument, an Emailed Threat, and a Full Campus Evacuation

WAthreat of violenceemergency notificationmedium confidence
Confirmed Threat

On May 16, 2019, Bellevue College in Washington evacuated and closed its main and north campuses after an 18-year-old student emailed a threat following a classroom argument. The evacuation order went out around 3:30 p.m. because police could not immediately locate the person who made the threat. The student was arrested in Duvall about an hour later.

Alerts
2
Response
—
Killed
—
Injured
—
Institution
Bellevue College
Community College · WA
~28,000 students
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

2 messages in sequence · 1 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 verbatimKIRO 7 quotation of the Bellevue College evacuation alert161 chars
Immediate evacuation of Bellevue College Main and North Campus is required. Please depart the campus in a safe and orderly manner, but remain alert and cautious.
KIRO 7 quoted this evacuation message verbatim; the 18-word instruction emphasizes orderly departure while still telling people to 'remain alert and cautious' because the threat-maker had not been located.
The evacuation order was issued at 3:30 p.m. PDT, after President Jerry Weber's roughly 3 p.m. email announcing the closure of the main and north campuses.
Unusually for an active-threat message, this alert orders people to leave rather than shelter in place, reflecting that the threat was an emailed warning rather than a confirmed armed person on campus.
UPDATESMS
Approximate reconstruction164 chars
The person who made the threat against Bellevue College is in custody. Both campuses remain closed for the rest of the day. Updates will follow regarding reopening.

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

Police said the suspect was taken into custody by Duvall officers around 4:45 p.m. PDT and that an officer was injured during the arrest.
This is an update rather than an all-clear because it confirms the arrest but keeps both campuses closed for the remainder of the day.
The reconstructed wording is based on news accounts; no verbatim follow-up message was published in the sources reviewed, so isVerbatimConfirmed is false.
Context

Background

Bellevue College, the third-largest higher-education institution in Washington, uses a RAVE-based alert system across its main and north campuses. On May 16, 2019, an 18-year-old student emailed a threat to a faculty member and the school following a classroom argument the previous day. Because police could not immediately find the person, President Jerry Weber emailed students around 3 p.m. announcing the closure, and an evacuation alert went out at 3:30 p.m. ordering everyone off the main and north campuses. The student was arrested in Duvall about an hour later, and a Duvall officer was injured during the arrest. The case illustrates the evacuate-versus-shelter decision: with an at-large, unlocated threat-maker rather than a confirmed shooter on campus, the college chose to clear the buildings entirely.
Analysis

Key Findings

Bellevue College issued a verbatim 3:30 p.m. PDT evacuation order — not a shelter-in-place — because the emailed threat-maker had not been located
President Jerry Weber's roughly 3 p.m. email and the formal alert framed the closure as 'an abundance of caution'
The 18-year-old student was arrested in Duvall around 4:45 p.m., roughly 75 minutes after the evacuation order
The incident shows how a campus chooses evacuation over lockdown when the threat is a warning from an at-large person rather than an active on-campus attacker
Outcome
Police arrested the 18-year-old student in Duvall around 4:45 p.m.; a Duvall police officer was injured during the arrest, leading to additional charges. The threat followed a classroom argument the previous day between the student, another student, and a teacher.
Provenance

Sources

  1. News
    Student arrested after Bellevue College evacuated, closed due to threat - The Seattle Times
    seattletimes.com
  2. News
    Students evacuated, suspect in custody after Bellevue College threat - KIRO 7
    kiro7.com
  3. News
    1 arrested after Bellevue College evacuated due to threat - KOMO News
    komonews.com
  4. News
    Bellevue College student arrested in Duvall for allegedly sending threatening email - Bellevue Reporter
    bellevuereporter.com
Tags
threat-of-violenceevacuationcommunity-collegewashingtonbellevueemailed-threatemergency-notification
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion