{
  "id": "2022-01-04-north-carolina-central-university-bomb-threat",
  "slug": "north-carolina-central-university-bomb-threat-2022-01-04",
  "institution": {
    "name": "North Carolina Central University",
    "shortName": "NCCU",
    "state": "NC",
    "type": "hbcu",
    "enrollment": 8200,
    "alertSystemName": "Eagle Alert"
  },
  "incident": {
    "date": "2022-01-04",
    "type": "bomb-threat",
    "cleryCategory": "emergency-notification",
    "headline": "Bomb threat amid the coordinated HBCU wave; campus evacuated, no explosives found",
    "headlinePublic": "Bomb threat amid the coordinated HBCU wave; campus evacuated, no explosives found",
    "summary": "[North Carolina Central University](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Carolina_Central_University) received a bomb threat call to its campus police department at [approximately 5:30 p.m. EST on January 4, 2022](https://www.nccu.edu/news/update-nccu-jan-4-2022), as part of the very first wave of [coordinated HBCU bomb threats](https://www.npr.org/2022/02/08/1079294424/hbcu-bomb-threats-black-colleges). The campus was placed on lockdown and an Eagle Alert directed people to leave campus; law enforcement including Durham Police and the [Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives](https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/588292-hbcu-in-north-carolina-temporarily-evacuated-after-bomb-threat/) conducted a sweep. An all-clear was issued at 9:15 p.m. EST the same evening. No explosive devices were found. NCCU was one of at least seven HBCUs targeted that day in a campaign that would eventually produce at least 57 bomb threats against HBCUs and other institutions and target dozens of Black colleges over the following weeks.",
    "outcome": "Campus evacuated and swept by NCCU Police, Durham Police, and the ATF. No explosive devices found. All-clear issued at 9:15 p.m. EST on January 4, 2022; relocated students were transported back to residence halls.",
    "resolution": "unfounded"
  },
  "alerts": [
    {
      "sequence": 1,
      "type": "initial",
      "timestamp": "2022-01-04T17:36:00-05:00",
      "channel": "sms",
      "verbatimText": "A BOMB THREAT has been reported on campus. Please proceed immediately to the nearest exit and vacate the building. Leave campus. All employees should return home. Students who cannot return home should report to Hillside High School Parking Lot. THIS IS NOT A DRILL",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://campusecho.com/nccu-eagle-alert-bomb-threat/",
      "sourceDescription": "Campus Echo Online, NCCU's student newspaper, quoted the Eagle Alert verbatim; alert issued at 5:36 PM EST on January 4, 2022",
      "annotations": [
        "Verbatim from the Eagle Alert system as quoted by Campus Echo Online, NCCU's student newspaper; the alert was issued at 5:36 PM EST, approximately six minutes after NCCU Police received the threat call at approximately 5:30 PM EST",
        "NCCU chose evacuation rather than shelter-in-place, differing from the protocols other HBCUs adopted later in the wave; the designated off-campus assembly point was Hillside High School Parking Lot",
        "The all-caps 'THIS IS NOT A DRILL' closing was a formatting standard in Eagle Alert's mass-notification system, emphasizing urgency",
        "Part of the January 4 first wave of HBCU bomb threats that hit at least seven institutions the same day"
      ],
      "characterCount": 265
    },
    {
      "sequence": 2,
      "type": "update",
      "timestampApprox": "Shortly after 5:36 PM EST on January 4, 2022",
      "channel": "twitter-x",
      "verbatimText": "#EagleAlert: All students who require transportation off campus to the evacuation point should report to the Lower Lot of the Mary Townes Science Complex parking lot.",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://campusecho.com/nccu-eagle-alert-bomb-threat/",
      "sourceDescription": "NCCU official Twitter/X account Eagle Alert tweet, as quoted by Campus Echo Online and multiple news outlets including The Hill",
      "annotations": [
        "Verbatim from the NCCU official Twitter/X account, as reported by Campus Echo Online and confirmed by The Hill and IBTimes",
        "The Mary Townes Science Complex Lower Lot served as the on-campus staging point for students needing bus transport to Hillside High School off campus",
        "The #EagleAlert hashtag was NCCU's standard social-media alert signifier"
      ],
      "characterCount": 166
    },
    {
      "sequence": 3,
      "type": "all-clear",
      "timestamp": "2022-01-04T21:15:00-05:00",
      "channel": "sms",
      "verbatimText": "",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": false,
      "sourceDescription": "Reconstructed from NCCU's official update (nccu.edu/news/update-nccu-jan-4-2022); exact wording not confirmed",
      "annotations": []
    }
  ],
  "context": "[North Carolina Central University](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Carolina_Central_University), a public HBCU in Durham, North Carolina, was among the very first institutions targeted in what would become the [largest coordinated bomb threat campaign against HBCUs](https://www.npr.org/2022/02/08/1079294424/hbcu-bomb-threats-black-colleges) in modern history. According to NCCU's [official update](https://www.nccu.edu/news/update-nccu-jan-4-2022), NCCU Police received the threat call at approximately 5:30 p.m. EST on January 4, 2022; the campus was placed on lockdown, an Eagle Alert directed people to evacuate, and an all-clear was issued at 9:15 p.m. EST the same evening. The January 4 wave hit at least seven HBCUs simultaneously: [University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, Florida Memorial University, Howard University, Norfolk State University, NCCU, Prairie View A&M, and Xavier University of Louisiana](https://www.qcnews.com/news/national-news/bomb-threats-force-evacuations-lockdowns-at-multiple-hbcus-including-nccu/), before the much larger January 31 wave brought national attention. NCCU, founded in 1910, is part of the University of North Carolina system and enrolls approximately 8,200 students. The university chose to evacuate the campus rather than shelter in place, a decision that reflected the uncertainty of how to respond to these threats in the earliest days of the campaign. By the time later waves arrived in February, most HBCUs had shifted to shelter-in-place protocols. The FBI investigated the entire campaign as racially motivated hate crimes and [later announced that a single juvenile was believed responsible for the majority of the threats](https://abc11.com/north-carolina-central-university-funding-bomb-threat-2022/12699801/).",
  "sources": [
    {
      "title": "NCCU Eagle Alert: Bomb threat (Campus Echo Online)",
      "url": "https://campusecho.com/nccu-eagle-alert-bomb-threat/",
      "type": "student-newspaper"
    },
    {
      "title": "HBCU in North Carolina temporarily evacuated after bomb threat (The Hill)",
      "url": "https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/588292-hbcu-in-north-carolina-temporarily-evacuated-after-bomb-threat/",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "Update from NCCU (Jan. 4, 2022) (NCCU official)",
      "url": "https://www.nccu.edu/news/update-nccu-jan-4-2022",
      "type": "official-archive"
    },
    {
      "title": "NCCU students worry about safety after bomb threat, crime in Durham (WRAL)",
      "url": "https://www.wral.com/nccu-one-of-seven-hbcus-placed-on-lockdown-due-to-threat/20062913/",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "Multiple HBCUs targeted by bomb threats in coordinated campaign (CNN)",
      "url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/05/us/hbcu-bomb-threats/index.html",
      "type": "local-media"
    }
  ],
  "confidence": "medium",
  "tags": [
    "bomb-threat",
    "hbcu",
    "hbcu-bomb-wave-2022",
    "racially-motivated",
    "first-wave",
    "north-carolina",
    "evacuation"
  ],
  "dateAdded": "2026-04-04",
  "lastUpdated": "2026-06-01",
  "addedBy": "ingestion"
}