Campus Alert Archive
VPCC

A 12:18 Call and a Two-Hour Wait: Bomb Threat at VPCC's Hastings Hall

VAbomb threatemergency notificationmedium confidence

Virginia Peninsula Community College in Hampton was among the Hampton Roads colleges hit with bomb threats on July 12, 2022. VPCC police received the call at 12:18 p.m., and a canine unit swept Hastings Hall on the Hampton campus. No one was injured or in danger, and everyone was cleared to return to the building at 2:18 p.m. The threat was part of a connected regional hoax wave.

Alerts
2
Response
—
Killed
—
Injured
—
Institution
Virginia Peninsula Community College
Community College · VA
~7,000 studentsVPCC 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 reconstruction166 chars
VPCC Alert: A bomb threat has been reported on the Hampton Campus. Evacuate Hastings Hall now and move away from the building. Await further instructions from police.

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

Reconstructed wording; the exact VPCC Alert text was not published, so this is marked unconfirmed. The 12:18 p.m. EDT call time is from reporting.
A canine unit specifically swept Hastings Hall on the Hampton campus, per reporting.
ALL CLEARSMS+2 h
Approximate reconstruction154 chars
VPCC Alert: The search of Hastings Hall is complete and no device was found. The building is cleared and everyone may return. Thank you for your patience.

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

Reconstructed all-clear; the 2:18 p.m. EDT clearance time is confirmed by reporting, which stated no one was injured or in danger.
Exactly two hours elapsed between the 12:18 p.m. call and the 2:18 p.m. all-clear.
Context

Background

Virginia Peninsula Community College (formerly Thomas Nelson Community College) in Hampton was one of six Hampton Roads institutions threatened in the July 12, 2022 bomb-threat wave. Williamsburg Yorktown Daily reported that VPCC police received the threat call at 12:18 p.m. EDT and that a canine unit swept Hastings Hall on the Hampton campus; no one was injured or in danger, and everyone was cleared to return at 2:18 p.m. EDT. WAVY tied the VPCC threat to the same coordinated wave that hit Tidewater Community College, Regent University, Norfolk State University, Paul D. Camp Community College, and Eastern Shore Community College that day. The precise two-hour window between call and all-clear makes VPCC one of the better-timestamped entries in the regional cluster.
Analysis

Key Findings

VPCC police received the bomb-threat call at 12:18 p.m. EDT on July 12, 2022
A canine unit swept Hastings Hall on the Hampton campus and found no device
Everyone was cleared to return at 2:18 p.m. EDT, exactly two hours later; no injuries
Provenance

Sources

  1. News
    Virginia Peninsula Community College Among Colleges to Receive Bomb Threat Tuesday - Williamsburg Yorktown Daily
    wydaily.com
  2. News
    Local colleges get similar bomb threats Tuesday - WAVY
    wavy.com
Tags
bomb-threathoaxcommunity-collegevirginiahampton-roadsserial-threatsemergency-notification
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion