Campus Alert Archive
BSC

Four North Dakota Campuses Cleared Out at Once in a Coordinated Bomb-Threat Wave

NDbomb threatemergency notificationmedium confidence

On Friday, July 1, 2022, Bismarck State College and Dickinson State University evacuated their campuses after phoned bomb threats arrived within a couple minutes of one another around midday, part of a wave that also hit Lake Region State College in Devils Lake and Dakota College at Bottineau. Police searched the buildings and found no devices, and Bismarck police gave the all-clear after about an hour. All four campuses had received the all-clear by 2 p.m. CDT.

Alerts
2
Response
—
Killed
—
Injured
—
Institution
Bismarck State College
Community College · ND
BSC 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 reconstruction163 chars
BSC ALERT: Bomb threat received. Evacuate all campus buildings immediately. Move away from buildings and parking areas. Do not return until an all-clear is issued.

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

Reconstructed from reporting that BSC and Dickinson State evacuated their campuses after phoned bomb threats arrived within a couple minutes of one another around midday CDT on July 1, 2022.
Bismarck is in the Central Time Zone (CDT in July); the near-simultaneous timing of the southern North Dakota threats suggested a coordinated hoax campaign.
ALL CLEARSMS
Approximate reconstruction137 chars
BSC ALERT: All clear. Law enforcement searched campus and found no device. Buildings are safe to reenter. Thank you for your cooperation.

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

Reconstructed all-clear: Bismarck police gave the all-clear after about an hour of searching, and all four threatened campuses had been cleared by 2 p.m. CDT.
The all-clear explicitly lifts the evacuation after a building search, the standard resolution for a no-device bomb threat.
Context

Background

July 1, 2022 brought a coordinated wave of phoned bomb threats against North Dakota higher-education campuses. According to the Bismarck Tribune, Bismarck State College and Dickinson State University canceled classes and evacuated their campuses after threats that arrived within a couple of minutes of each other around midday, while Lake Region State College in Devils Lake and Dakota College at Bottineau received similar threats. KX News reported that buildings were evacuated and searched and no active threats were found. Bismarck police gave the all-clear after about an hour, and all campuses were clear by 2 p.m. CDT. The Tribune noted there was no indication the incidents were connected to one another, but that officers responded to similar threats in Rapid City and Aberdeen, S.D., as well as in Washington, North Carolina and Texas — consistent with the broader pattern of hoax threats sweeping U.S. campuses. Because BSC is a polytechnic community college, this case also helps balance the archive's overrepresentation of large research universities. No verbatim alert text was published, so the messages are reconstructed and marked unconfirmed.
Analysis

Key Findings

Four North Dakota campuses — Bismarck State, Dickinson State, Lake Region State and Dakota College at Bottineau — were threatened on the same day, July 1, 2022
Threats to the two southern campuses arrived within a couple of minutes of each other, suggesting coordination even as police found no formal link
All campuses were searched and cleared with no devices found, receiving the all-clear by 2 p.m. CDT
No verbatim alert text was published, so the alert sequence is reconstructed and flagged unconfirmed
Outcome
No explosive devices were found at any campus and no one was injured. All four North Dakota institutions had received the all-clear by 2 p.m. CDT; the threats were not found to be connected to one another but mirrored similar hoax bomb threats elsewhere in the U.S.
Provenance

Sources

  1. News
    BSC, DSU evacuated for bomb threats; Bismarck police give all-clear - Bismarck Tribune
    bismarcktribune.com
  2. News
    Bomb threats target DSU, BSC; campus buildings evacuated, no active threats found - KX News
    kxnet.com
  3. Official
    Timely Warning Notices - Bismarck State College
    bismarckstate.edu
Tags
bomb-threathoaxevacuationnorth-dakotabismarck-state-collegecommunity-collegemulti-campusemergency-notification
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion