Campus Alert Archive
WVU

A Midday Bomb Threat Phone Call Emptied Two WVU Engineering Buildings and Suspended PRT Service

WVbomb threatemergency notificationhigh confidence

On November 7, 2023, West Virginia University evacuated the Mineral Resources Building and Engineering Sciences Building on its Evansdale campus after a phone bomb threat was reported to a university employee just before 12:30 PM EST. WVU Police swept both buildings and issued an all-clear by approximately 2:00 PM EST, finding no evidence of any device. PRT service at the Engineering station was temporarily suspended as a precaution during the response.

Alerts
3
Response
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Killed
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Injured
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Institution
West Virginia University
Public R1 · WV
WVU Alert
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

3 messages in sequence · 2 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 ALERTTwitter/X
Verified verbatim@WVUalert official X account post on November 7, 2023, quoted verbatim by The DA Online (WVU student newspaper) and KGAN/CBS Iowa104 chars
BOMB THREAT Reported bomb threat at Mineral Resources Building. Evacuate/avoid Evansdale area of campus.
Verbatim from @WVUalert's official X post, quoted identically by The DA Online ('Bomb threat reported on Evansdale, All Clear issued') and KGAN ('Bomb threat alert issued for West Virginia University's Evansdale campus').
The threat was made by phone to a University employee right before 12:30 PM EST on November 7, 2023 per WVU Today.
The tweet directed evacuation of the Evansdale area broadly; subsequent updates specified Engineering Sciences Building and PRT suspension at the Engineering station.
UPDATEwvu-alert
Approximate reconstruction162 chars
WVU Alert Update: The sweep of the Mineral Sciences Building has been completed and nothing was found. The search of the Mineral Resources Building is continuing.

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

Reconstructed: WVU Today's statement indicated a phased sweep, with the Mineral Sciences Building being cleared first before investigators completed the Mineral Resources Building sweep.
This message maintained restrictions while work continued; it is correctly classified as an update, not an all-clear.
ALL CLEARTwitter/X
Verified verbatim@WVUalert official X account post at approximately 2:10 PM EST on November 7, 2023 — URL confirmed in search results155 chars
UPDATE: ALL CLEAR The search of Mineral Resources Building has been completed. Nothing suspicious has been located. It is safe to resume normal activities.
Verbatim from @WVUalert's official X post at status/1721968440691376304, quoted by WV MetroNews, WDTV, and The DA Online as the all-clear announcement.
WVU Today confirmed this language independently: 'The search of Mineral Resources Building has been completed. Nothing suspicious has been located. It is safe to resume normal activities.'
The 'UPDATE: ALL CLEAR' prefix is characteristic of WVU Alert's update-style tweets — caps-prefixed, no 'WVU Alert:' header on updates.
Context

Background

On November 7, 2023, a phone bomb threat called in to a West Virginia University employee just before 12:30 PM EST prompted the evacuation of the Mineral Resources Building and Engineering Sciences Building on WVU's Evansdale campus in Morgantown. The university also suspended Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) service at the Engineering station as a precaution. According to WVU Today, WVU Police conducted a phased sweep of both buildings and found no suspicious items, issuing an all-clear around 2:00 PM EST. WV MetroNews confirmed the university police announced they were investigating the origin of the call. The DA Online, WVU's student newspaper, reported on the disruption to classes and engineering students during the mid-semester period. The Evansdale campus houses WVU's College of Engineering and Mineral Resources, the Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design, and several other professional schools.
Outcome
WVU Police completed sweeps of both the Mineral Resources Building and Engineering Sciences Building and found no suspicious items. The all-clear was issued around 2:00 PM EST. PRT service at the Engineering station was restored. WVU Police announced they were investigating the origin of the threat call and would take additional action as warranted.
Provenance

Sources

  1. Official
    WVU Police find no evidence of threat following possible bomb call on Evansdale Campus - WVU Today
    wvutoday.wvu.edu
  2. News
    All Clear issued following WVU bomb threat - WV MetroNews
    wvmetronews.com
  3. Student Paper
    Bomb threat reported on Evansdale, All Clear issued - The DA Online
    thedaonline.com
  4. News
    All clear given after bomb threat at WVU - WDTV
    wdtv.com
  5. Social
    @WVUalert official X account (source of verbatim initial and all-clear tweets)
    x.com
Tags
bomb-threatfalse-alarmwest-virginiapublic-r1engineeringevacuationprt-disruption2023
Added May 2026Updated June 2026Via ingestion