{ "id": "2022-01-31-albany-state-university-bomb-threat", "slug": "albany-state-university-bomb-threat-2022-01-31", "institution": { "name": "Albany State University", "shortName": "ASU", "state": "GA", "type": "hbcu", "enrollment": 6700, "alertSystemName": "ASU LiveSafe / Connect 5 Alert" }, "incident": { "date": "2022-01-31", "type": "bomb-threat", "cleryCategory": "emergency-notification", "headline": "Bomb threat during a coordinated wave targeting six HBCUs; no device found", "headlinePublic": "Bomb threat during a coordinated wave targeting six HBCUs; no device found", "summary": "[Albany State University](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albany_State_University) received a bomb threat on January 31, 2022, as part of a [coordinated wave](https://www.npr.org/2022/02/08/1079294424/hbcu-bomb-threats-black-colleges) that simultaneously targeted six HBCUs. Students and employees were told not to report to campus while law enforcement conducted a sweep. An all-clear was issued after no explosive devices were found. The timing, one day before the start of Black History Month, was widely interpreted as deliberate.", "outcome": "Campus swept by law enforcement. No explosive devices found. All-clear issued and normal operations resumed.", "resolution": "unfounded" }, "alerts": [ { "sequence": 1, "type": "initial", "timestampApprox": "Morning of January 31, 2022 EST", "channel": "email", "verbatimText": "A bomb threat has been issued to Albany State University's academic buildings. Students and Employees should not report to campus until notice. Once the investigation is complete the campus community will be notified.", "isVerbatimConfirmed": true, "sourceUrl": "https://www.asurams.edu/news/2022/update_jan31.php", "sourceDescription": "Albany State University official news release on the January 31, 2022 bomb threat, quoted verbatim by WALB and AJC", "annotations": [ "Specifies 'academic buildings' as the targeted area, narrower scoping than the campus-wide framing used by Howard or Bowie State the same morning", "'Should not report to campus' is stay-away framing, a contrast with the simultaneous shelter-in-place orders at other HBCUs in the same wave", "Part of a simultaneous wave hitting six HBCUs on the same day", "Timing on January 31, the day before Black History Month, was widely noted as symbolic" ], "characterCount": 217 }, { "sequence": 2, "type": "all-clear", "timestampApprox": "Approximately 4:45 PM EST on January 31, 2022, after the ASU Police Department and partner agencies completed sweeps of all campus facilities", "channel": "email", "verbatimText": "The Albany State University Police Department (ASU PD) has completed its investigation of the bomb threat that ASU received earlier this morning. The ASU Police Department, and local and state law enforcement agencies searched all campus facilities and have issued an all-clear. It is safe to return to campus. As a precaution and until further notice, students and employees will be required to use their RAM Identification Cards to enter buildings on campus. All ASU classes are postponed until tomorrow, February 1. All campus operations will resume as normal on February 1.", "isVerbatimConfirmed": true, "sourceUrl": "https://www.asurams.edu/news/2022/update_jan31.php", "sourceDescription": "Albany State University official 'Campus Update: Bomb Threat Issued to Academic Buildings' news release, reproduced verbatim by WALB and WSB-TV", "annotations": [ "Verbatim from Albany State's official all-clear update (asurams.edu/news/2022/update_jan31.php), corroborated word-for-word by WALB and WSB-TV; the post-threat 'RAM Identification Cards' building-entry requirement is preserved exactly", "Issued at approximately 4:45 PM EST on January 31, 2022, roughly seven hours after the morning bomb-threat alert", "Notably mirrors the wording of Fort Valley State's all-clear the next day (both Georgia public HBCUs in the University System of Georgia), suggesting a shared system template" ], "characterCount": 577 } ], "context": "[Albany State University](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albany_State_University), a public HBCU in Albany, Georgia, was one of six historically Black institutions targeted simultaneously on January 31, 2022. This wave represented a significant escalation from the initial January 4-5 threats, demonstrating increasing coordination in the campaign. The timing, one day before the start of [Black History Month](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_History_Month), was widely interpreted as a deliberate and racially motivated provocation. Albany State, with approximately 6,700 students, is the largest HBCU in southwest Georgia. The January 31 wave brought significant national media attention to the crisis and prompted the FBI to publicly acknowledge the coordinated nature of the threats. The Bureau [eventually identified six juveniles as persons of interest](https://virginiamercury.com/2022/03/17/most-hbcu-bomb-threats-may-be-coming-from-one-juvenile-fbi-official-tells-congress/). No actual explosive devices were found at any of the targeted campuses.", "sources": [ { "title": "Campus Update: Bomb Threat Issued to Academic Buildings (Albany State University official news release)", "url": "https://www.asurams.edu/news/2022/update_jan31.php", "type": "official-archive" }, { "title": "Six HBCUs receive bomb threats in coordinated wave", "url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/31/us/hbcu-bomb-threats-january/index.html", "type": "local-media" }, { "title": "Albany State University among HBCUs targeted by bomb threats", "url": "https://www.walb.com/2022/01/31/albany-state-university-bomb-threat/", "type": "local-media" } ], "confidence": "high", "tags": [ "bomb-threat", "hbcu", "hbcu-bomb-wave-2022", "racially-motivated", "coordinated-threat", "georgia" ], "dateAdded": "2026-04-04", "lastUpdated": "2026-05-14", "addedBy": "ingestion" }