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Campus Alert Archive
FSU

Bomb threat, July 14, 2022

AI-generated · every claim is source-linked
FLbomb threatemergency notificationhigh confidence
UnfoundedNo evidence of an actual threat was found. The institutional response is documented because the alert communication is identical to what would occur during a real incident.

On July 14, 2022, Florida State University received a vague bomb threat -- originating from a number traced to Ethiopia -- and evacuated the Stone Building on West Call Street, which houses the College of Education. An FSU Alert was sent at 12:08 p.m. EDT, warning the campus community of heavy police presence. Capitol Police K-9 units swept the building, found nothing, and an all-clear was issued at 1:15 p.m. The threat also affected FSU's Panama City satellite campus. FSUPD said the threat had 'no credibility.'

Alerts
2
Response
Killed
Injured
Institution
Florida State University
Public R1 · FL
All FSU cases →
~45,000 studentsFSU Alert
Official alert policy
Read when and how FSU says it will use FSU ALERT: summarized, quoted, and analyzed.
Documented Timeline

Alert Sequence

2 messages in sequence · 2 verified verbatim

INITIAL ALERTTwitter/X
Verified verbatim@FSUAlert on X (verbatim raw t.co)284 chars
There is a heavy police presence in the area of the Stone Building. The building has been evacuated in an abundance of caution. Please avoid the area until further notice. More information will be provided when it becomes available. https://manager.everbridge.net/pub/3009230181239159
The FSU Alert was sent at approximately 12:08 p.m. EDT on July 14, 2022, warning of heavy police presence at the Stone Building on West Call Street
The Stone Building houses FSU's College of Education; the bomb threat was described as 'vague' by law enforcement regarding its location on campus
Both the main Tallahassee campus and FSU's Panama City satellite campus received threats and were evacuated as a precaution
ALL CLEARTwitter/X+1h 7m
Verified verbatim@FSUAlert on X (verbatim raw t.co)134 chars
All warnings have expired or been cancelled. Resume normal activities responsibly. https://manager.everbridge.net/pub/3009230181239311
The all-clear was issued at 1:15 p.m. EDT, approximately one hour and seven minutes after the initial FSU Alert at 12:08 p.m.
Capitol Police K-9 units assisted FSUPD in the sweep of the Stone Building
The call was traced to a number originating from Ethiopia, consistent with the broader wave of overseas-origin bomb-threat calls targeting US colleges during July 2022
Message elements

How the first alert is built

To check this alert, Claude (an AI) read it in full 25 separate times, independently. Each read decided whether the message answers each of the six questions and gave a short reason. A final reviewer then weighed all 25 and wrote the plain-English verdict you see when you open a row. The score (for example 22/25) is how many reads agreed; the 25 individual reads are tucked underneath if you want to check them.

There is a heavy police presence in the area of the Stone Building. The building has been evacuated in an abundance of caution. Please avoid the area until further notice. More information will be provided when it becomes available. https://manager.everbridge.net/pub/3009230181239159

  • Sourceabsent0/0

    Who is sending the alert and who is responding. People act faster on a message from a clearly identifiable, credible sender, such as a named department, the police, or a branded alert system, than on an anonymous notice. A branded signature counts.

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  • Hazardabsent0/0

    What the threat actually is. A complete warning names the specific danger, such as a shooter, a fire, a tornado, or a gas leak, rather than a vague emergency, because people decide what to do based on what they are facing.

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  • Locationabsent0/0

    Where the threat is. Saying whether danger is in a specific building, a part of campus, or area-wide lets people judge their own proximity and choose a safe direction. Without a where, a warning is hard to act on precisely.

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  • Guidanceabsent0/0

    The protective action to take. A clear, specific instruction, such as shelter in place, evacuate, avoid the area, or run-hide-fight, drives faster and more correct protective behavior than describing the threat alone.

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  • Timeabsent0/0

    When the message applies. A timestamp, the word now or immediately, or a phrase like until further notice tells the reader whether the danger is current and how quickly to act.

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  • Impactabsent0/0

    What the hazard could do to the people in its path. Beyond naming the threat, a complete warning conveys its potential consequences or severity, such as that a tornado can level buildings or that a leak could be explosive, so recipients grasp how much danger they are in. Research on warning message content finds that a concrete impact statement helps people personalize their risk and act sooner.

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Systematic AI judgments with visible reasoning, not human-validated codings.

About this analysis
Context

Background

On July 14, 2022, Florida State University became part of a nationwide wave of bomb threats that struck dozens of colleges across multiple states in mid-July. FSUPD noted the call originated from Ethiopia, consistent with a pattern of overseas-origin calls targeting U.S. educational institutions that summer. The Stone Building -- home to FSU's College of Education -- was evacuated, and Capitol Police K-9 units swept the building before the all-clear was given at 1:15 p.m. EDT. The threat also touched FSU's satellite campus in Panama City, which was given a separate all-clear by local law enforcement. The July 2022 wave included threats to Eastern Florida State College, Florida Gateway College, Tidewater Community College, Virginia Peninsula Community College, multiple Louisiana community colleges, Kansas community colleges, Michigan colleges, and dozens of others -- a pattern that federal investigators linked to overseas callers. The FBI had concluded by then that the majority of the earlier 2022 HBCU bomb threats were attributed to a single domestic juvenile suspect, while the summer 2022 community-college wave appeared to have different origins.
Outcome
Stone Building and FSU Panama City satellite evacuated. Capitol Police K-9 units swept both locations. FSUPD declared no credibility. All-clear issued at 1:15 p.m. EDT. Threat call originated from a number traced to Ethiopia, consistent with the broader July 2022 wave hitting dozens of US colleges.
Provenance

Sources

  1. News
  2. News
  3. News
  4. News
  5. News
  6. Social
  7. Social
Cite this case

Campus Alert Archive. "Florida State University: Bomb threat, July 14, 2022." Incident of July 14, 2022. Added May 2026; last updated July 2026. https://campusalertarchive.com/case/florida-state-university-stone-building-bomb-threat-2022-07-14/

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Alert text quoted on this page remains the work of the issuing institution; the archive is a secondary source.

Tags
bomb-threatoverseas-callernational-wavepublic-r1floridatallahasseesummer-2022k9-responsecommunity-college-wavestone-buildingUnfounded
Added May 2026Updated July 2026Via ingestion