Campus Alert Archive
Gonzaga

Before 7 AM on a Gonzaga Thursday: A Non-Specific Bomb Threat Emptied Every Campus Building for Three Hours

WAbomb threatemergency notificationmedium confidence

At approximately 7:00 AM PDT on Thursday, September 25, 2014, Spokane police received a call from a male stating there was a bomb on the Gonzaga University campus. All campus buildings were evacuated as Spokane Police's Explosives Disposal Unit and Gonzaga Security conducted a building-by-building sweep. Gonzaga rapidly emailed all students to evacuate all academic and administrative buildings. The campus was cleared by approximately 10:00 AM PDT, and classes scheduled for 10:30 AM resumed normally. No explosive device was found.

Alerts
2
Response
—
Killed
0
Injured
0
Institution
Gonzaga University
Private R2 · WA
ZagAlert
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 ALERTEmail
Verified verbatimThe Spreadit and The Easterner (Eastern Washington University student newspaper) both quote this exact ZagAlert email text sent to all students after police received the bomb threat at approximately 7:00 AM PDT; The Easterner reported Gonzaga students received the email 'rapidly'152 chars
A police emergency has been identified on the Gonzaga University, a non-specific bomb threat. Please evacuate all academic and administrative buildings.
Sent approximately 7:00 AM PDT on September 25, 2014 -- the rapid dispatch of the email immediately after police received the call reflects Gonzaga's protocol of concurrent notification and emergency response
The phrase 'identified on the Gonzaga University' is preserved as transmitted -- slightly awkward grammar consistent with an alert drafted quickly under immediate pressure
The instruction to evacuate 'all academic and administrative buildings' mirrors standard bomb threat protocol, which disperses people away from structures where a device could be planted rather than directing shelter-in-place
ALL CLEAREmail
Approximate reconstruction268 chars
All buildings on the Gonzaga University campus have been cleared and are safe for re-entry. Classes will resume as scheduled. Thank you for your cooperation during today's bomb threat. Spokane Police and Gonzaga Security have completed their sweep and found no device.

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

All-clear issued approximately 10:00 AM PDT -- approximately three hours after the initial 7:00 AM PDT threat call, consistent with the time required to sweep all buildings on Gonzaga's 131-acre campus
The Explosives Disposal Unit of the Spokane Police Department conducted the sweep alongside Gonzaga Security -- standard mutual-aid protocol for bomb threat responses at Jesuit universities
The non-specific nature of the threat ('there is a bomb on the Gonzaga campus' without stating a location) required sweeping all buildings rather than targeting a single structure, extending the response time
Context

Background

Gonzaga University, a Jesuit Catholic institution in Spokane, Washington, founded in 1887, received a non-specific bomb threat on the morning of September 25, 2014. Police were called just before 7:00 AM PDT by a male caller who stated there was a bomb on the campus. Gonzaga issued a ZagAlert email to all students almost immediately, directing evacuation of all academic and administrative buildings. Spokane Police's Explosives Disposal Unit and Gonzaga Security conducted a systematic sweep of all campus buildings, a process that took approximately three hours on the 131-acre campus. The campus was cleared and deemed safe by approximately 10:00 AM PDT. Classes scheduled for 10:30 AM and later resumed normally. The threat was placed from an off-campus phone number. No arrest was announced in the initial reporting. The Easterner (Eastern Washington University's student newspaper) covered the story and raised questions about Gonzaga's communication speed and bomb threat protocols, reflecting broader student-media scrutiny of campus emergency response across Spokane's higher education community. No explosive device was found.
Analysis

Key Findings

The verbatim ZagAlert email -- 'A police emergency has been identified on the Gonzaga University, a non-specific bomb threat' -- preserves an authentic grammatical imperfection consistent with rapid composition under pressure
A non-specific threat requiring a full campus sweep took approximately three hours on Gonzaga's 131-acre campus -- a benchmark for bomb threat response time at medium-sized private universities in the Pacific Northwest
The Gonzaga bomb threat prompted cross-campus media scrutiny from Eastern Washington University's student newspaper, reflecting how bomb threats at one Spokane-area institution generate concern across the wider regional higher education community
Outcome
Campus cleared by approximately 10:00 AM PDT. No explosive device found. Classes resumed for 10:30 AM and later time slots. The bomb threat was called in from an off-campus phone number.
Provenance

Sources

  1. News
    All buildings on Gonzaga campus cleared and classes are resuming after bomb threat (The Spokesman-Review)
    spokesman.com
  2. News
    Bomb threat at GU quickly resolved (The Spokesman-Review)
    spokesman.com
  3. News
    Gonzaga Bomb Threat: Campus Cleared After University Bomb Threat (The Spreadit)
    thespreadit.com
  4. Student Paper
    Gonzaga bomb threat sets off questions (The Easterner, Eastern Washington University)
    theeasterner.org
Tags
bomb-threatevacuationno-device-foundspokanewashingtonprivate-r2jesuitcatholiczag-alert2014morning-threat
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion