Campus Alert Archive
Pepperdine

Two Days After the Palisades Fire Reached Campus, Pepperdine Receives a Non-Credible Bomb Threat

CAbomb threatadvisorymedium 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 January 9, 2025, Pepperdine University received anonymous bomb threats that were part of a multi-university campaign during the same week the Palisades Fire was burning into Malibu. Pepperdine, in collaboration with law enforcement and threat assessment experts, determined the threats were not credible. Out of an abundance of caution, the university announced an increased security presence patrolling on campus while it continued operating through both the wildfire response and the threat investigation simultaneously.

Alerts
1
Response
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Killed
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Injured
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Institution
Pepperdine University
Private R2 · CA
~8,800 studentsEverbridgePepperdine Emergency Information
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

1 message 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 ALERTEmail
Approximate reconstructionPepperdine Emergency Information bomb-threat page, paraphrased message reconstructed from publicly summarized text408 chars
An unknown individual has sent anonymous bomb threats to multiple colleges and universities across the country, including to some people at Pepperdine. In collaboration with law enforcement and threat assessment experts, Pepperdine, along with other schools, has determined that the threats are not credible. Out of an abundance of caution, you may notice an increased security presence patrolling on campus.

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

Issued the same week the Palisades Fire forced shelter-in-place orders on the Malibu campus, layering two simultaneous emergency communications streams
Pepperdine deliberately framed the message as 'an abundance of caution' rather than an active threat — language that mirrors the FBI's standard guidance for non-credible mass-emailed threats
The advisory was classified as informational rather than emergency-notification because no shelter-in-place or evacuation was required
Pepperdine was one of multiple universities targeted in this anonymous mass-email threat campaign in early January 2025
Context

Background

The non-credible bomb threats at Pepperdine University arrived during one of the most operationally complex weeks in the institution's recent history. The Palisades Fire ignited on January 7, 2025, and by January 8 it had reached the eastern edge of the Malibu campus, prompting a campus-wide shelter-in-place order under Pepperdine's longstanding Fire Plan. On January 9, even as fire crews and university staff continued to monitor flames within sight of buildings, the institution received the anonymous bomb threats that have been sent to colleges nationwide. Mass-emailed threats targeting dozens of universities simultaneously have become a recurring tactic since 2022, when a similar wave hit HBCUs in February 2022. Federal law enforcement treats these threats as serious crimes even when non-credible, since they consume real first-responder bandwidth — bandwidth that, in Pepperdine's case on January 9, was already stretched by the ongoing wildfire response. The university's quick framing of the threat as 'not credible' and its decision against evacuation reflect a maturing institutional posture: distinguish between performative mass-emailed threats and credible local threats, and avoid triggering panic that compounds an existing emergency.
Analysis

Key Findings

Pepperdine received the threat during active wildfire emergency operations for the Palisades Fire, requiring the institution to manage two simultaneous communications streams
The threat was classified as part of a multi-institution anonymous email campaign rather than a Pepperdine-specific incident
No evacuation or shelter-in-place was ordered; the response was limited to increased security patrols
The advisory-tier framing reflects evolved institutional practice for mass-emailed non-credible threats
Outcome
Threats determined to be non-credible. No evacuation. Increased security presence deployed. Investigation handled by Pepperdine Public Safety in collaboration with law enforcement and threat assessment experts. Concurrent with active Palisades Fire response affecting the Malibu campus.
Provenance

Sources

  1. Official
    Bomb Threat — Pepperdine Emergency Information
    emergency.pepperdine.edu
  2. Official
    Monitoring Los Angeles Area Fires — Update #5 (Palisades Fire response context)
    emergency.pepperdine.edu
  3. Source
    Palisades Fire — Wikipedia
    en.wikipedia.org
Tags
bomb-threatmass-email-campaignnon-credibleconcurrent-emergencywildfire-contextprivate-r2religious-affiliatedchurch-of-christUnfounded
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion