{ "id": "2019-05-16-bellevue-college-email-threat-evacuation", "slug": "bellevue-college-email-threat-evacuation-2019-05-16", "institution": { "name": "Bellevue College", "shortName": "BC", "state": "WA", "type": "community-college", "enrollment": 28000 }, "incident": { "date": "2019-05-16", "type": "threat-of-violence", "cleryCategory": "emergency-notification", "headline": "Emailed threat prompted evacuation of two campuses; student arrested within hours", "headlinePublic": "Emailed threat prompted evacuation of two campuses; student arrested within hours", "summary": "On May 16, 2019, Bellevue College in Washington [evacuated and closed its main and north campuses](https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/eastside/bellevue-college-evacuated-closed-after-threat-out-of-an-abundance-of-caution/) after an 18-year-old student emailed a threat following a classroom argument. The [evacuation order went out around 3:30 p.m. PDT](https://www.kiro7.com/news/local/police-investigate-bellevue-college-threat/949888537/) because police could not immediately locate the person who made the threat. The student was arrested in Duvall about an hour later.", "outcome": "Police arrested the 18-year-old student in Duvall around 4:45 p.m. PDT; a Duvall police officer was injured during the arrest, leading to additional charges. The threat followed a classroom argument the previous day between the student, another student, and a teacher.", "resolution": "confirmed-threat" }, "alerts": [ { "sequence": 1, "type": "initial", "timestamp": "2019-05-16T15:30:00-07:00", "channel": "sms", "verbatimText": "Immediate evacuation of Bellevue College Main and North Campus is required. Please depart the campus in a safe and orderly manner, but remain alert and cautious.", "isVerbatimConfirmed": true, "sourceUrl": "https://www.kiro7.com/news/local/police-investigate-bellevue-college-threat/949888537/", "sourceDescription": "KIRO 7 quotation of the Bellevue College evacuation alert", "annotations": [ "KIRO 7 quoted this evacuation message verbatim; the two-sentence instruction emphasizes orderly departure while still telling people to 'remain alert and cautious' because the threat-maker had not been located.", "The evacuation order was issued at 3:30 p.m. PDT, after President Jerry Weber's roughly 3 p.m. PDT email announcing the closure of the main and north campuses.", "Unusually for an active-threat message, this alert orders people to leave rather than shelter in place, reflecting that the threat was an emailed warning rather than a confirmed armed person on campus." ], "characterCount": 161 }, { "sequence": 2, "type": "update", "timestampApprox": "Shortly after the suspect's arrest around 4:45 PM PDT on May 16, 2019", "channel": "sms", "verbatimText": "", "isVerbatimConfirmed": false, "sourceDescription": "Reconstructed from KOMO and Seattle Times reporting that the suspect was arrested and campuses stayed closed", "annotations": [] } ], "context": "Bellevue College, the third-largest higher-education institution in Washington, uses a RAVE-based alert system across its main and north campuses. On May 16, 2019, an 18-year-old student [emailed a threat to a faculty member and the school following a classroom argument](https://www.bellevuereporter.com/news/bellevue-college-evacuated-after-student-emails-threat-to-faculty-member/) the previous day. Because police could not immediately find the person, [President Jerry Weber emailed students around 3 p.m. PDT announcing the closure](https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/eastside/bellevue-college-evacuated-closed-after-threat-out-of-an-abundance-of-caution/), and an [evacuation alert went out at 3:30 p.m. PDT](https://www.kiro7.com/news/local/police-investigate-bellevue-college-threat/949888537/) ordering everyone off the main and north campuses. [The student was arrested in Duvall about an hour later](https://komonews.com/news/local/bellevue-college-evacuated-due-to-threat-against-employee), and a Duvall officer was injured during the arrest. The case illustrates the evacuate-versus-shelter decision: with an at-large, unlocated threat-maker rather than a confirmed shooter on campus, the college chose to clear the buildings entirely.", "keyFindings": [ "Bellevue College issued a verbatim 3:30 p.m. PDT evacuation order (not a shelter-in-place) because the emailed threat-maker had not been located", "President Jerry Weber's roughly 3 p.m. PDT email and the formal alert framed the closure as 'an abundance of caution'", "The 18-year-old student was arrested in Duvall around 4:45 p.m. PDT, roughly 75 minutes after the evacuation order", "The incident shows how a campus chooses evacuation over lockdown when the threat is a warning from an at-large person rather than an active on-campus attacker" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Student arrested after Bellevue College evacuated, closed due to threat - The Seattle Times", "url": "https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/eastside/bellevue-college-evacuated-closed-after-threat-out-of-an-abundance-of-caution/", "type": "local-media" }, { "title": "Students evacuated, suspect in custody after Bellevue College threat - KIRO 7", "url": "https://www.kiro7.com/news/local/police-investigate-bellevue-college-threat/949888537/", "type": "local-media" }, { "title": "1 arrested after Bellevue College evacuated due to threat - KOMO News", "url": "https://komonews.com/news/local/bellevue-college-evacuated-due-to-threat-against-employee", "type": "local-media" }, { "title": "Bellevue College student arrested in Duvall for allegedly sending threatening email - Bellevue Reporter", "url": "https://www.bellevuereporter.com/news/bellevue-college-evacuated-after-student-emails-threat-to-faculty-member/", "type": "local-media" } ], "confidence": "medium", "tags": [ "threat-of-violence", "evacuation", "community-college", "washington", "bellevue", "emailed-threat", "emergency-notification" ], "dateAdded": "2026-05-28", "lastUpdated": "2026-07-16", "addedBy": "ingestion" }