{
  "id": "2024-04-25-indiana-university-bloomington-suspicious-device",
  "slug": "indiana-university-bloomington-suspicious-device-2024-04-25",
  "institution": {
    "name": "Indiana University Bloomington",
    "shortName": "IU",
    "state": "IN",
    "type": "public-r1",
    "alertSystemName": "IU Notify",
    "enrollment": 47005
  },
  "incident": {
    "date": "2024-04-25",
    "type": "suspicious-package",
    "cleryCategory": "emergency-notification",
    "resolution": "unfounded",
    "headline": "Suspicious device found at a campus-area intersection; all-clear in about 11 minutes",
    "headlinePublic": "Suspicious device found at a campus-area intersection; all-clear in about 11 minutes",
    "summary": "On April 25, 2024, Indiana University Bloomington issued an [IU Notify alert at 8:42 AM EDT](https://www.iustv.com/article/2024/04/iupd-all-clear-after-suspicious-item-prompts-iu-notify-alert) after a suspicious device was found near the intersection of 4th Street and Indiana Avenue. IUPD responded and determined there was [no threat to safety](https://bloomingtonian.com/2024/04/25/police-investigate-suspicious-device-thursday-morning-no-bomb-found/), issuing an all-clear at 8:53 AM EDT.",
    "outcome": "The suspicious item was investigated and determined to pose no threat. The all-clear alert was issued at 8:53 AM EDT, about 11 minutes after the initial alert, after police cleared the area by roughly 8:48 AM EDT. No evacuations were ordered."
  },
  "alerts": [
    {
      "sequence": 1,
      "type": "initial",
      "timestamp": "2024-04-25T08:42:00-04:00",
      "channel": "sms",
      "verbatimText": "IUB emergency: A suspicious device has been found near 4th and Indiana. Avoid the area. Follow instructions from university officials or local authorities. Call 9 1 1 with information. For available information and updates on this dangerous situation visit emergency.iu.edu",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://emergency.iu.edu/rave/index.html?page=14&campus=iub",
      "sourceDescription": "IU Emergency Rave feed (IU Notify SMS text)",
      "annotations": [
        "Cascade expansion from official emergency.iu.edu Rave feed (IU Bloomington, Apr 25, 2024).",
        "Full IU Notify SMS text; longer than contemporaneous @IUpolice X abbreviation. Preserves spaced 'Call 9 1 1'."
      ],
      "characterCount": 273
    },
    {
      "sequence": 2,
      "type": "initial",
      "timestamp": "2024-04-25T08:42:34-04:00",
      "channel": "twitter-x",
      "verbatimText": "IUB emergency: A suspicious device has been found near 4th and Indiana. Avoid the area. Follow official instruction. Call 911 with information",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://x.com/IUpolice/status/1783476695736967580",
      "sourceDescription": "@IUpolice on X (verbatim)",
      "annotations": [
        "Verified complete alert text on https://x.com/IUpolice/status/1783476695736967580 via fxtwitter; IUSTV embeds this status.",
        "Preserves singular 'instruction' typo/template as posted on @IUpolice.",
        "Official same-day cascade from @IUpolice / IU Notify."
      ],
      "characterCount": 142
    },
    {
      "sequence": 3,
      "type": "all-clear",
      "timestamp": "2024-04-25T08:53:25-04:00",
      "channel": "twitter-x",
      "verbatimText": "IUB final emergency update: There is no threat to safety. Resume normal activities.",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://x.com/IUpolice/status/1783479427491320090",
      "sourceDescription": "@IUpolice on X (verbatim all-clear)",
      "annotations": [
        "Verified complete alert text on https://x.com/IUpolice/status/1783479427491320090 via fxtwitter; IUSTV embeds this status.",
        "All-clear ~11 minutes after initial post."
      ],
      "characterCount": 83
    }
  ],
  "context": "On the morning of April 25, 2024, a suspicious device was reported near the intersection of [4th Street and Indiana Avenue](https://www.iustv.com/article/2024/04/iupd-all-clear-after-suspicious-item-prompts-iu-notify-alert) on the Indiana University Bloomington campus. IU Notify, the university's emergency alert system, sent a notification at 8:42 AM EDT directing people to avoid the area while IUPD investigated. The investigation was resolved quickly; by roughly 8:48 AM EDT, about six minutes after the initial alert, IUPD had confirmed there was [no bomb and no threat to safety](https://bloomingtonian.com/2024/04/25/police-investigate-suspicious-device-thursday-morning-no-bomb-found/), and the all-clear alert followed at 8:53 AM EDT. The rapid resolution was notable given that suspicious device calls often result in extended building evacuations and multi-hour investigations. This incident came just five days after the [Little 500 weekend shooting](https://www.idsnews.com/article/2024/04/shots-fired-occur-over-little-500-weekend-bloomington-indiana-iu) that had already heightened campus safety concerns at IU Bloomington. Separately, later that same day, IU Bloomington police began clearing a pro-Palestinian encampment on Dunn Meadow, an unrelated multi-day civil-unrest event documented as its own case in this archive.",
  "keyFindings": [
    "The all-clear alert was issued about 11 minutes after the initial alert; police had cleared the area within roughly six minutes",
    "The incident occurred five days after Little 500 weekend shootings had already elevated safety concerns on campus",
    "IU Notify was activated in March 2024 for text message alerts, making this one of the first uses of the new system"
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "title": "IUPD: All clear after suspicious item prompts IU Notify alert (IU Student Television)",
      "url": "https://www.iustv.com/article/2024/04/iupd-all-clear-after-suspicious-item-prompts-iu-notify-alert",
      "type": "student-newspaper"
    },
    {
      "title": "Police investigate suspicious device Thursday morning; No bomb found (The Bloomingtonian)",
      "url": "https://bloomingtonian.com/2024/04/25/police-investigate-suspicious-device-thursday-morning-no-bomb-found/",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "@IUpolice suspicious device initial (X)",
      "url": "https://x.com/IUpolice/status/1783476695736967580",
      "type": "official-social"
    },
    {
      "title": "@IUpolice suspicious device all-clear (X)",
      "url": "https://x.com/IUpolice/status/1783479427491320090",
      "type": "official-social"
    },
    {
      "title": "IU Emergency Rave feed (IUB alerts)",
      "url": "https://emergency.iu.edu/rave/index.html?page=14&campus=iub",
      "type": "official-archive"
    }
  ],
  "confidence": "high",
  "tags": [
    "suspicious-package",
    "suspicious-device",
    "indiana",
    "big-ten",
    "iu-notify",
    "rapid-resolution",
    "unfounded"
  ],
  "dateAdded": "2026-05-02",
  "lastUpdated": "2026-07-19",
  "addedBy": "ingestion"
}