{
  "id": "2017-01-18-miami-dade-college-north-campus-bomb-threat",
  "slug": "miami-dade-college-north-campus-bomb-threat-2017-01-18",
  "institution": {
    "name": "Miami Dade College",
    "shortName": "MDC",
    "state": "FL",
    "type": "community-college",
    "alertSystemName": "MDC Alert",
    "alertPlatform": "Everbridge",
    "enrollment": 165000
  },
  "incident": {
    "date": "2017-01-18",
    "type": "bomb-threat",
    "cleryCategory": "emergency-notification",
    "headline": "Emailed bomb threat prompts campus-wide evacuation; determined to be unfounded",
    "headlinePublic": "Emailed bomb threat prompts campus-wide evacuation; determined to be unfounded",
    "summary": "On the afternoon of Wednesday, January 18, 2017, [Miami Dade College](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miami_Dade_College) administrators received an emailed bomb threat against the North Campus at [11380 NW 27th Avenue](https://www.local10.com/news/2017/01/18/miami-dade-college-to-resume-classes-thursday-after-bomb-threat/) at 2:33 PM EST, prompting an immediate evacuation of Buildings 1, 2, 4, and the Preschool Lab. Fifty-five minutes later, at 3:28 PM EST, MDC sent a campus-wide emergency alert ordering [evacuation of ALL BUILDINGS at North Campus](https://mdcthereporter.com/north-campus-evacuated-bomb-threat-reported/). Miami-Dade Police swept the grounds and determined the threat was unfounded; evening classes were canceled and the campus reopened Thursday.",
    "outcome": "Campus evacuated; Miami-Dade Police swept buildings and found no explosive device. Threat determined unfounded. Evening classes canceled; classes resumed Thursday, January 19, 2017. No injuries. This was the second MDC bomb threat in four months: the Kendall Campus library had been evacuated on September 27, 2016.",
    "resolution": "unfounded",
    "casualties": {
      "killed": 0,
      "injured": 0
    }
  },
  "alerts": [
    {
      "sequence": 1,
      "type": "initial",
      "timestamp": "2017-01-18T15:28:00-05:00",
      "channel": "sms",
      "verbatimText": "This is an emergency alert from Miami Dade College. Please evacuate ALL BUILDINGS at MDC North Campus immediately. If heading to the Campus, stay away until the all-clear has been given.",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://mdcthereporter.com/north-campus-evacuated-bomb-threat-reported/",
      "sourceDescription": "The Reporter (MDC student newspaper), which published the exact text of the emergency alert in its January 18, 2017 article",
      "annotations": [
        "Sent at 3:28 PM EST on January 18, 2017, 55 minutes after the threat was received at 2:33 PM EST and after the initial spot-evacuation of Buildings 1, 2, 4, and the Preschool Lab",
        "Phrase 'evacuate ALL BUILDINGS' (in all caps) is a deliberate broadening from the initial spot-evacuation of just Buildings 1, 2, 4, and the Preschool Lab",
        "The instruction to people 'heading to the Campus' to stay away reflects MDC's commuter character: most of the affected population would have been off-site and en route at 3:28 PM EST",
        "Distributed via the MDC Alert system (Everbridge), reaching SMS, email, and the MDC public website"
      ],
      "characterCount": 186
    },
    {
      "sequence": 2,
      "type": "all-clear",
      "timestampApprox": "Wednesday evening, January 18, 2017, after Miami-Dade Police completed building sweeps and declared the threat unfounded",
      "channel": "sms",
      "verbatimText": "",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": false,
      "annotations": []
    }
  ],
  "context": "[Miami Dade College](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miami_Dade_College) is one of the largest higher-education institutions in the United States, with eight campuses across South Florida and an enrollment of roughly 165,000 at the time of this incident. The [North Campus](https://www.mdc.edu/north/), at 11380 NW 27th Avenue in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, is the system's original campus, founded in 1960, and serves a predominantly Black, Hispanic, and immigrant student body. The January 18, 2017 bomb threat arrived by email at 2:33 PM EST. MDC administrators evacuated Buildings 1, 2, 4, and the Preschool Lab immediately, but did not send the campus-wide MDC Alert until 3:28 PM EST, 55 minutes later. The alert ordered evacuation of all buildings and explicitly told commuters heading to campus to stay away. [Miami-Dade Police](https://www.local10.com/news/2017/01/18/miami-dade-college-to-resume-classes-thursday-after-bomb-threat/) responded at approximately 3 PM, swept the grounds, and found no explosive device. The threat was declared unfounded, evening classes were canceled, and the campus reopened on Thursday, January 19. The incident was the [second bomb threat at an MDC campus in four months](https://mdcthereporter.com/north-campus-evacuated-bomb-threat-reported/) (the Kendall Campus library had been evacuated on September 27, 2016 after an anonymous phone call) and was followed less than six weeks later by [a third bomb threat that evacuated the Hialeah Campus on February 28, 2017](https://www.local10.com/news/2017/02/28/miami-dade-college-hialeah-campus-evacuated-due-to-bomb-threat/). The cluster reflects the broader 2016–2017 wave of emailed bomb threats targeting U.S. community colleges, Jewish community centers, and public institutions.",
  "keyFindings": [
    "The 55-minute gap between threat receipt (2:33 PM EST) and the campus-wide MDC Alert (3:28 PM EST) reflects the operational distinction MDC drew between local building evacuations (immediate) and the system-wide alert, which followed after initial verification",
    "The verbatim alert text ('evacuate ALL BUILDINGS at MDC North Campus immediately') is notable for using all-caps emphasis within an otherwise standard MDC Alert template",
    "The January 2017 threat was one of three emailed/phoned bomb threats at three different MDC campuses (Kendall in September 2016, North in January 2017, Hialeah in February 2017), part of a national 2016–2017 cluster of emailed bomb threats against community colleges and public institutions",
    "The explicit instruction to commuters 'heading to the Campus' to stay away is a community-college-specific alert design choice: MDC has no resident students, so commuter-redirection language matters more than dorm-shelter language"
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "title": "Classes Canceled at North Campus After Bomb Threat Reported (The Reporter, MDC student newspaper)",
      "url": "https://mdcthereporter.com/north-campus-evacuated-bomb-threat-reported/",
      "type": "student-newspaper"
    },
    {
      "title": "All clear given at Miami Dade College North Campus after bomb threat (WSVN 7News)",
      "url": "https://wsvn.com/news/local/miami-dade-college-north-campus-evacuated-due-to-bomb-threat/",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "Miami Dade College to resume classes Thursday after bomb threat (Local 10)",
      "url": "https://www.local10.com/news/2017/01/18/miami-dade-college-to-resume-classes-thursday-after-bomb-threat/",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "Miami Dade College Hialeah campus evacuated due to bomb threat (subsequent incident, February 28, 2017)",
      "url": "https://www.local10.com/news/2017/02/28/miami-dade-college-hialeah-campus-evacuated-due-to-bomb-threat/",
      "type": "local-media"
    }
  ],
  "confidence": "medium",
  "tags": [
    "community-college",
    "bomb-threat",
    "miami-dade-college",
    "evacuation",
    "florida",
    "hispanic-serving-institution",
    "email-threat",
    "everbridge",
    "unfounded",
    "2017-bomb-threat-wave"
  ],
  "dateAdded": "2026-05-13",
  "lastUpdated": "2026-05-14",
  "addedBy": "ingestion",
  "factChecked": {
    "date": "2026-05-14",
    "notes": "Verified the January 18, 2017 MDC North Campus bomb-threat timeline against The Reporter (MDC student newspaper), WSVN 7News, Local 10, and NBC 6 South Florida. Confirmed: emailed threat received at 2:33 PM EST; immediate spot evacuation of Buildings 1, 2, 4, and the Preschool Lab; campus-wide MDC Alert at 3:28 PM EST ('Please evacuate ALL BUILDINGS at MDC North Campus immediately'), a 55-minute gap; Miami-Dade Police K-9 sweep; threat determined unfounded; evening classes canceled; classes resumed Thursday January 19. The verbatim alert text matches what The Reporter published. No corrections needed."
  }
}