{
  "id": "2023-09-28-fresno-state-bomb-threat-residence-halls",
  "slug": "fresno-state-bomb-threat-residence-halls-2023-09-28",
  "institution": {
    "name": "California State University, Fresno",
    "shortName": "Fresno State",
    "state": "CA",
    "type": "public-masters",
    "alertSystemName": "Bulldog Alert",
    "enrollment": 24000
  },
  "incident": {
    "date": "2023-09-28",
    "type": "bomb-threat",
    "cleryCategory": "emergency-notification",
    "resolution": "confirmed-hoax",
    "headline": "Bomb threat, September 28, 2023",
    "summary": "On September 28, 2023, an emailed bomb threat targeting [Fresno State residence halls, the University House, and Professor Ida Jones's home](https://abc30.com/fresno-state-dorms-dining-hall-evaucated/13839341/) prompted the evacuation of dorms, the dining hall and child care facility. The Fresno Police Department received the threat at approximately 11:30 AM PDT; a Bulldog Alert was issued at 12:18 PM, and the [threat was deemed not credible at 2:03 PM PDT](https://fscollegian.com/2023/09/campus-threat-leads-to-evacuation-from-residence-and-dining-halls/). The threats followed [LibsofTikTok social media attacks](https://www.scholarsatrisk.org/report/2023-09-28-california-state-university-fresno/) on Jones's classroom pronoun policy.",
    "outcome": "No explosive devices were found. The threats were determined to be a hoax related to social media harassment of Professor Ida Jones over her pronoun policy.",
    "casualties": {
      "killed": 0,
      "injured": 0
    }
  },
  "alerts": [
    {
      "sequence": 1,
      "type": "initial",
      "timestamp": "2023-09-28T12:18:00-07:00",
      "channel": "sms",
      "verbatimText": "",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": false,
      "sourceDescription": "Reconstructed from The Collegian and ABC30 reporting",
      "annotations": []
    },
    {
      "sequence": 2,
      "type": "update",
      "timestampApprox": "Approximately 1:00 PM PDT on September 28, 2023",
      "channel": "sms",
      "verbatimText": "",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": false,
      "sourceDescription": "Reconstructed from The Collegian timeline reporting",
      "annotations": []
    },
    {
      "sequence": 3,
      "type": "all-clear",
      "timestamp": "2023-09-28T13:55:51-07:00",
      "channel": "twitter-x",
      "verbatimText": "BDALERT: Law Enforcement has cleared impacted buildings. There was no credible threat. Students may return to the dorms. Campus email will be distributed soon.",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://x.com/Fresno_State/status/1707499382969680051",
      "sourceDescription": "@Fresno_State on X (verbatim); the BDALERT all-clear post embedded in the cited ABC30 article",
      "annotations": [
        "Lane B PRE-2024 flip 2026-10-13 (EDT; 2026-10-14 UTC): the cited ABC30 article embeds the official @Fresno_State BDALERT all-clear post (status 1707499382969680051, 2023-09-28 20:55:51 UTC = 1:55:51 p.m. PDT from the status ID). The embed markup and the X API read of the status agree byte for byte (159 chars). Replaced the 160-char reconstruction (\"Threat to residence halls determined not credible...\"); channel corrected from sms to twitter-x because the evidenced product is the X post. SPN not attempted (Lane A CLOSED); archiveUrl null.",
        "Three locations were targeted: Fresno State residence halls, the University House, and Professor Ida Jones's home"
      ],
      "characterCount": 159
    }
  ],
  "context": "On the morning of September 28, 2023, the [Fresno Police Department received an emailed bomb threat at approximately 11:30 AM PDT](https://fscollegian.com/2023/09/campus-threat-leads-to-evacuation-from-residence-and-dining-halls/) targeting three locations: Fresno State residence halls, the University House (the official residence of the university president), and the home of [Ida Jones, a business and finance professor](https://www.scholarsatrisk.org/report/2023-09-28-california-state-university-fresno/). The threats followed a September 27 [LibsofTikTok social media campaign](https://gvwire.com/2026/05/01/fresno-area-hoax-school-threats-disrupt-campuses-the-protocols-behind-the-panic/) attacking Jones's classroom pronoun policy. Fresno State issued its first Bulldog Alert at 12:18 PM and evacuated residence halls, the dining hall, Home Management (child care) and University House. The rest of campus remained open. The threats were deemed not credible at 2:03 PM, and no explosive devices were found. The incident is part of a [growing pattern of pronoun-policy-driven harassment](https://fscollegian.com/2023/10/what-happened-after-the-bomb-threat-heres-an-update-on-the-situation/) targeting individual professors at U.S. universities.",
  "keyFindings": [
    "The 48-minute gap between threat receipt (11:30 AM) and first Bulldog Alert (12:18 PM) reflects the time required to verify and triage emailed threats",
    "This is among the first documented cases of LibsofTikTok-adjacent harassment escalating from social media to a credible bomb threat requiring evacuation",
    "Targeting both institutional leadership (the President's residence) and a specific professor's home indicates a coordinated rather than random threat"
  ],
  "responseTimeMinutes": 48,
  "sources": [
    {
      "title": "Bomb threat forces evacuations of Fresno State dorms and other buildings, threat found not credible (ABC30)",
      "url": "https://abc30.com/fresno-state-dorms-dining-hall-evaucated/13839341/",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "Campus threat leads to evacuations from residence and dining halls (The Collegian)",
      "url": "https://fscollegian.com/2023/09/campus-threat-leads-to-evacuation-from-residence-and-dining-halls/",
      "type": "student-newspaper"
    },
    {
      "title": "What happened after the bomb threat? Here's an update on the situation (The Collegian)",
      "url": "https://fscollegian.com/2023/10/what-happened-after-the-bomb-threat-heres-an-update-on-the-situation/",
      "type": "student-newspaper"
    },
    {
      "title": "2023-09-28 California State University, Fresno (Scholars at Risk)",
      "url": "https://www.scholarsatrisk.org/report/2023-09-28-california-state-university-fresno/",
      "type": "after-action-report"
    },
    {
      "title": "No threat found after Fresno State evacuation (CBS47/KSEE24)",
      "url": "https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/news/local-news/fresno-state-evacuates-after-potential-threat/",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "@Fresno_State BDALERT all-clear, Sep 28 2023 (X)",
      "url": "https://x.com/Fresno_State/status/1707499382969680051",
      "type": "official-social"
    }
  ],
  "confidence": "high",
  "tags": [
    "bomb-threat",
    "evacuation",
    "california",
    "fresno-state",
    "libsoftiktok",
    "pronouns",
    "harassment",
    "hoax",
    "residence-halls",
    "professor-targeted"
  ],
  "dateAdded": "2026-05-03",
  "lastUpdated": "2026-10-13",
  "addedBy": "ingestion"
}