{
  "id": "2022-02-25-dillard-university-bomb-threat",
  "slug": "dillard-university-bomb-threat-2022-02-25",
  "institution": {
    "name": "Dillard University",
    "shortName": "Dillard",
    "state": "LA",
    "type": "hbcu",
    "enrollment": 1400
  },
  "incident": {
    "date": "2022-02-25",
    "type": "bomb-threat",
    "cleryCategory": "emergency-notification",
    "headline": "Bomb threat, February 25, 2022",
    "summary": "[Dillard University](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dillard_University) in New Orleans closed its Gentilly campus on the morning of February 25, 2022, after receiving a bomb threat -- becoming [the third Louisiana HBCU targeted that year](https://lailluminator.com/2022/02/25/dillard-university-becomes-third-louisiana-hbcu-to-receive-bomb-threat/), following Southern University and Xavier University. The NOPD, FBI, and ATF investigated and issued an all-clear the same day. The threat came on the final Friday of Black History Month, [disrupting midterm exams](https://www.wwno.org/education/2022-02-25/dillard-university-is-the-latest-louisiana-hbcu-to-receive-bomb-threat-all-clear-given) which were rescheduled to after the Mardi Gras break.",
    "outcome": "Campus closed for the day of February 25. NOPD, FBI, and ATF investigated and issued an all-clear. No explosive device found. Midterm exams were rescheduled after Mardi Gras break.",
    "resolution": "unfounded"
  },
  "alerts": [
    {
      "sequence": 1,
      "type": "initial",
      "channel": "twitter-x",
      "verbatimText": "Dillard University has received a bomb threat. Several law enforcement agencies have been notified and are investigating the threat on campus. The campus will be closed for the remainder of the day. \n\n#myDU #FairDillard https://t.co/1hxuLn5sSc",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceDescription": "@du1869 (Dillard University) on X (verbatim); the official post the cited Louisiana Illuminator article embeds as a twitter-tweet",
      "annotations": [
        "Lane B PRE-2024 flip 2026-10-14: the cited Louisiana Illuminator article embeds the official @du1869 (Dillard University) post as a twitter-tweet (status 1497224455642300433, 2022-02-25 14:58:21 UTC = 8:58 a.m. CST). Two independent X API reads and CDN syndication agree on the 243-char text (including hashtags and trailing t.co). Replaced the 399-char news-reconstructed email (Gentilly closure / NOPD-FBI-ATF; 'exact Dillard alert text not republished verbatim') with the official product; channel email -> twitter-x. SPN not attempted (Lane A CLOSED); archiveUrl null.",
        "The campus closure came on the morning of February 25, 2022, the Friday before the Mardi Gras break, disrupting midterm exam schedules",
        "Dillard was the third Louisiana HBCU to receive a bomb threat in 2022, after Southern University and Xavier University in New Orleans",
        "Dillard University president Walter Kimbrough had been vocal in congressional testimony about the psychological and reputational toll of the wave of HBCU bomb threats"
      ],
      "characterCount": 243,
      "sourceUrl": "https://x.com/du1869/status/1497224455642300433",
      "timestamp": "2022-02-25T08:58:21-06:00"
    },
    {
      "sequence": 2,
      "type": "all-clear",
      "timestampApprox": "Afternoon of February 25, 2022 (Central Time)",
      "channel": "email",
      "verbatimText": "",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": false,
      "sourceDescription": "Reconstructed from WWNO and WWLTV coverage confirming the afternoon all-clear",
      "annotations": []
    }
  ],
  "context": "[Dillard University](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dillard_University), a private HBCU founded in 1869 in New Orleans' Gentilly neighborhood, received a bomb threat on the morning of February 25, 2022, closing its campus for the day. The threat arrived on the last Friday of Black History Month, just before the Mardi Gras holiday weekend. It made Dillard [the third Louisiana HBCU to receive a bomb threat](https://lailluminator.com/2022/02/25/dillard-university-becomes-third-louisiana-hbcu-to-receive-bomb-threat/) that year, following Southern University in Baton Rouge and Xavier University of Louisiana. At least two other HBCUs also received threats that same morning, bringing the [2022 total to more than 50 institutions nationwide](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-02-25/hbcus-were-targets-of-bomb-threats-every-week-during-black-history-month-2022). The New Orleans Police Department, the FBI, and the ATF investigated the campus; no explosives were found and an all-clear was issued that afternoon. [Dillard president Walter Kimbrough](https://www.wwno.org/education/2022-03-09/hbcus-more-vulnerable-to-future-attacks-after-bomb-threats-dillard-president-tells-congress) subsequently testified before Congress, warning that HBCUs were more vulnerable to future attacks due to chronic underfunding of campus security and urging federal investment in infrastructure to match what predominantly white institutions already had. The midterm exam disruption -- with tests rescheduled after a Mardi Gras break that compressed an already tight academic calendar -- exemplified the cascading academic consequences of the wave.",
  "sources": [
    {
      "title": "Dillard University is the latest Louisiana HBCU to receive bomb threat; 'all-clear' given (WWNO)",
      "url": "https://www.wwno.org/education/2022-02-25/dillard-university-is-the-latest-louisiana-hbcu-to-receive-bomb-threat-all-clear-given",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "Dillard University becomes third Louisiana HBCU to receive bomb threat (Louisiana Illuminator)",
      "url": "https://lailluminator.com/2022/02/25/dillard-university-becomes-third-louisiana-hbcu-to-receive-bomb-threat/",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "New Orleans HBCU gets bomb threat, closes campus Friday before Mardi Gras (WWLTV)",
      "url": "https://www.wwltv.com/article/news/local/dillard-gets-bomb-threat-closes-campus-friday-before-mardi-gras/289-d036e558-5670-41b0-b5d2-d58b002d7654",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "HBCUs more vulnerable to future attacks after bomb threats, Dillard president tells Congress (WWNO)",
      "url": "https://www.wwno.org/education/2022-03-09/hbcus-more-vulnerable-to-future-attacks-after-bomb-threats-dillard-president-tells-congress",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "HBCUs Were Targets of Bomb Threats Every Week During Black History Month 2022 (Bloomberg)",
      "url": "https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-02-25/hbcus-were-targets-of-bomb-threats-every-week-during-black-history-month-2022",
      "type": "national-media"
    },
    {
      "type": "official-social",
      "url": "https://x.com/du1869/status/1497224455642300433",
      "title": "@du1869 status 1497224455642300433 (2022-02-25 bomb threat notice)",
      "accessedDate": "2026-10-14"
    }
  ],
  "confidence": "high",
  "tags": [
    "bomb-threat",
    "hbcu",
    "hbcu-bomb-wave-2022",
    "racially-motivated",
    "coordinated-threat",
    "louisiana",
    "new-orleans",
    "black-history-month"
  ],
  "dateAdded": "2026-05-31",
  "lastUpdated": "2026-10-14",
  "addedBy": "ingestion"
}