Campus Alert Archive
Westfield State

A 2:30 AM Bomb Threat Inside Scanlon Hall Capped a Semester of Racial Incidents at Westfield State

MAbomb threatemergency notificationmedium confidence
Confirmed HoaxDetermined to be a hoax. The institutional response is documented because it reveals how the alert system performed under a perceived real threat.

Early Sunday morning, December 3, 2017, a bomb threat was found written inside Scanlon Hall at Westfield State University; resident students were evacuated at 2:30 AM EST and Massachusetts State Police, Westfield Police, and Westfield State University Police -- including bomb-sniffing canines -- searched the building for nearly three hours before allowing students to return at 5:10 AM EST. The threat occurred against a backdrop of approximately two dozen racist and anti-Semitic incidents on campus since September 2017, including racial notes slipped under doors, racist vandalism, and a physical assault on an African-American student.

Alerts
2
Response
—
Killed
—
Injured
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Institution
Westfield State University
Public Masters · MA
~6,000 students
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 reconstruction261 chars
Westfield State Alert: A bomb threat has been found in Scanlon Hall. Residents of Scanlon Hall must evacuate immediately. Please proceed to a safe location away from the building. Law enforcement is responding. Do not re-enter the building until further notice.

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

Reconstructed: WWLP confirmed students 'had to evacuate their dorms after a bomb threat around 2:30 Sunday morning' on December 3, 2017 -- the 2:30 AM timing is directly cited in news reporting.
A 2:30 AM evacuation of a residence hall in early December places students outdoors in cold western Massachusetts weather for an extended period -- a real physical hardship compounding the psychological stress of the threat.
The threat was reportedly 'found inside Scanlon Hall' -- a written note, not a phone call -- following a semester of written racist notes slipped under dorm doors, suggesting a similar anonymous written-threat delivery method.
ALL CLEARSMS+2h 40m
Approximate reconstruction236 chars
Westfield State Alert: All clear. Law enforcement has completed a thorough search of Scanlon Hall with bomb-sniffing dogs. No device or threat was found. Residents may return to Scanlon Hall. Thank you for your cooperation and patience.

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

Reconstructed: WWLP confirmed the all-clear was given 'just after 5AM' on December 3, 2017, approximately two hours and 40 minutes after the evacuation began.
The 2:40-hour search duration reflects the thorough sweep required by bomb-sniffing dogs of a multi-story residential hall at night.
Context

Background

Westfield State University, a public master's institution in Westfield, Massachusetts, experienced an escalating series of racial incidents throughout the fall 2017 semester. Beginning in September, approximately two dozen hate-speech incidents were logged -- racist notes slipped under dorm room doors and into mailboxes, anti-Semitic symbols and graffiti, racist vandalism, and a physical assault on an African-American student by three young men on campus. University administration notified students of the pattern in a campus-wide communication. In this climate, a bomb threat was discovered written inside Scanlon Hall on the morning of December 3, 2017, at approximately 2:30 AM EST. Massachusetts State Police, Westfield Police, and Westfield State Police -- with bomb-sniffing canines -- searched the building for nearly three hours before the all-clear was issued at 5:10 AM EST. No device was found. The Recorder and the Daily Hampshire Gazette both reported the threat was investigated as potentially linked to the ongoing racial incidents. In response to the overall pattern, the university announced plans to install 400 security cameras campus-wide. The camera installation subsequently resulted in a dramatic reduction in reported hate incidents, demonstrating the deterrent effect of visible surveillance technology on anonymous harassment campaigns.
Analysis

Key Findings

The bomb threat followed a semester-long pattern of approximately 24 anonymous racist and anti-Semitic incidents, suggesting an escalation from written hate speech to a more extreme anonymous threat
A 2:30 AM evacuation of a dormitory in early December creates real physical hardship -- students in nightwear in cold outdoor temperatures for nearly three hours
A written threat found inside a building (rather than a phone call) can be more difficult to trace but was consistent with the written-note delivery method used in the semester's prior hate incidents
The university's subsequent installation of 400 campus security cameras -- specifically cited as a response to this threat pattern -- produced a measurable drop in reported hate incidents
Outcome
No device found. Multi-agency search with bomb-sniffing dogs cleared Scanlon Hall by 5:10 AM EST. Students returned to residence. University subsequently announced plans to install 400 security cameras.
Provenance

Sources

  1. News
    Bomb threat at Westfield State University - WWLP
    wwlp.com
  2. News
    Bomb threat linked to racist incidents at Westfield State - Daily Hampshire Gazette
    gazettenet.com
  3. News
    Residence hall at Westfield State evacuated after bomb threat - The Recorder
    recorder.com
Tags
bomb-threatconfirmed-hoaxresidence-hallhate-crime-contextracial-incidentswritten-threatlate-nightmassachusettspublic-masterssecurity-camerasHoax
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion