{
  "id": "2025-04-02-northern-marianas-college-social-media-threat",
  "slug": "northern-marianas-college-social-media-threat-2025-04-02",
  "institution": {
    "name": "Northern Marianas College",
    "shortName": "NMC",
    "state": "MP",
    "type": "territory",
    "alertSystemName": "NMC ProaNews / Campus Alert",
    "enrollment": 1300
  },
  "incident": {
    "date": "2025-04-02",
    "endDate": "2025-04-07",
    "type": "threat-of-violence",
    "cleryCategory": "emergency-notification",
    "resolution": "unfounded",
    "headline": "Threat of violence, April 2, 2025",
    "summary": "On the evening of [April 2, 2025](https://www.mvariety.com/news/local/police-investigating-threat-to-nmc/article_b303da99-95ea-4261-a149-84b746e4a6de.html), an Instagram story posted by the account @kirowantsrevenge_ read \"NMC just wait\" followed by a gun emoji. [Northern Marianas College](https://www.marianas.edu/proanews/campus-alert-04-02-2025-9-20pm) (the sole accredited college in the CNMI) activated its Emergency Response Team that night and worked with the CNMI Department of Public Safety, which placed uniformed officers on the Saipan campus. NMC moved many classes virtual through April 7 and reconfirmed via [campus alerts on April 5 and April 7](https://www.marianas.edu/proanews/campus-advisory-04-07-2025-update-as-of-5-00pm) that DPS had found no credible threat.",
    "outcome": "DPS reconfirmed on April 7, 2025 that there was no credible threat. NMC maintained heightened security with uniformed officers throughout the week; faculty were given flexibility to teach virtually and staff were allowed to telework."
  },
  "alerts": [
    {
      "sequence": 1,
      "type": "initial",
      "timestamp": "2025-04-02T21:20:00+10:00",
      "channel": "email",
      "verbatimText": "NMC Students and Employees,\n\nNorthern Marianas College is currently working with the CNMI Department of Public Safety (DPS) relating to a threat posted to a social media account.\n\nThe College takes all threats seriously and is taking the appropriate steps necessary to ensure the safety of students and employees. To this end, the College’s emergency response team has been activated and is working closely with authorities to effectively respond to the situation.\n\nAll students, employees should continue to monitor their official NMC email accounts for any announcements, including information that may involve safety precautions, campus closures or impacts to class schedules. Please also monitor announcements on official NMC platforms, including:\n\n1. NMC website\n2. NMC Facebook Page\n3. NMC Instagram\n4. News outlets including radio stations\n\nEmergency Contacts:\nNMC Security: (670) 287-4218\nDepartment of Public Safety: 911",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://www.marianas.edu/proanews/campus-alert-04-02-2025-9-20pm",
      "sourceDescription": "NMC ProaNews Campus Alert 04.02.2025 9:20PM",
      "annotations": [
        "Posted to NMC ProaNews at 9:20 PM ChST on April 2, 2025, the same evening the @kirowantsrevenge_ Instagram story appeared",
        "Saipan uses Chamorro Standard Time (UTC+10), which observes no daylight saving",
        "The CNMI Department of Public Safety serves as the territorial police force across Saipan, Tinian, and Rota"
      ],
      "characterCount": 929
    },
    {
      "sequence": 2,
      "type": "update",
      "timestamp": "2025-04-05T17:00:00+10:00",
      "channel": "email",
      "verbatimText": "Good Afternoon NMC Students and Employees:\n\nWe are writing to provide an update regarding a social media threat that has been circulating and has understandably caused anxiety within our campus community. But first, we want to emphasize and assure you that your safety is the College’s foremost priority and are taking precautionary measures to help keep you safe.\n\nBackground. This past Wednesday (April 2, 2025), a threat was posted to a social media account that was also shared widely in our community. We understand that additional threatening messages have been posted since then.\n\nWhat is NMC Doing to Keep You Safe. In response to the social media threat, we have activated NMC’s Emergency Response Team and are working closely with the CNMI Department of Public Safety (DPS) to coordinate a prompt and concerted response. As part of this response, Northern Marianas College has implemented heightened security measures across campus, which includes the presence of uniformed police officers, increased NMC security presence, and monitoring of campus facilities. We have also met with College management team members and constituent leaders to provide additional developments about this ongoing situation.\n\nFlexibility. As the investigation remains active, the College has provided students and employees additional flexibility to help address some of the heightened anxiety and to help ensure a safe and comfortable learning environment. This includes:\n\n• Providing faculty with flexibility to transition their classes to a virtual or online format if they choose to do so. Students should monitor any announcements from their instructors through their NMC email accounts or through Moodle. (For Faculty Members: Additional details about other accommodations will be provided to faculty members through the Office of the Dean of Academic Programs and Services.)\n\n• Providing NMC staff with the option to telework in coordination with their supervisors. Staff members who telework must ensure that they provide signage or other means to let others know how students or community members can access their department’s services.\n\n• Encouraging instructors and student services to extend grace and flexibility to students where appropriate and to also guide and direct students to professional mental and health services. Additional details about Student Services will be provided by the Office of the Dean of Student Support Services.\n\n• Providing additional counseling support to students and employees. NMC counseling services and the Community Guidance Center (CGC) Wellness Clinic are available from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm, Monday through Friday. NMC counselors can be contacted by email at nmc.counselors@marianas.edu, while the CGC can be reached by calling (670) 323-6560/1. If you need immediate assistance outside this time frame, please call or text the 988 Crisis Hotline.\n\nStay Informed. All students, employees should continue to monitor their official NMC email accounts for any announcements, including information that may involve safety precautions or impacts to class schedules. Please also monitor announcements on official NMC platforms, including:\n\n• NMC website\n\n• NMC Facebook Page\n\n• NMC Instagram\n\n• News outlets including radio stations\n\nRemain Calm, Stay Vigilant. While this situation is understandably distressing, it’s important to remember that NMC and law enforcement officials are taking necessary precautions to ensure your safety. We encourage all students and employees to remain vigilant and to always report suspicious activity to NMC faculty and staff. To support ongoing safety efforts, follow these important guidelines:\n\n• If you encounter an imminent threat or danger, call 911\n\n• Remain aware of your surroundings and report any suspicious activity immediately to NMC Security at (670) 287-4218 or DPS at 911.\n\n• Stay connected by checking your official NMC emails and other official communications\n\n• Follow campus safety protocols and instructions from NMC and DPS officials.\n\nWe will continue to update you about developments in this matter. The next update will be made on Monday, April 7, 2025 (unless developments warrant an announcement sooner).",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://www.marianas.edu/proanews/campus-alert-04-05-2025-update-as-of-5-00pm-april-5-2025",
      "sourceDescription": "NMC ProaNews Campus Alert update 04.05.2025 5:00pm",
      "annotations": [
        "Issued Saturday afternoon, 5:00 PM ChST on April 5, 2025, three days after the initial Instagram threat",
        "Additional threatening messages had been posted to social media between April 2 and April 5, prompting the explicit DPS reassessment",
        "The decision to allow virtual instruction and telework for a full work week is unusual for a small college and reflects the small, exposed community on Saipan"
      ],
      "characterCount": 4198
    },
    {
      "sequence": 3,
      "type": "all-clear",
      "timestamp": "2025-04-07T17:00:00+10:00",
      "channel": "email",
      "verbatimText": "Good Afternoon NMC Students and Employees:\n\nWe are writing to provide an update with regard to the social media threat that has been circulating and understandably raising concerns within our campus community. First and foremost, we want to reaffirm our commitment to your safety as the College’s highest priority.\n\nUpdate: Officials from the Department of Public Safety have confirmed that they are in direct communication with individuals involved with the social media threat. This communication, along with other information gathered from the department’s investigation over the past several days, has led the Department of Public Safety to reconfirm their earlier assessment that there is no credible threat at this time to the safety of NMC students and employees.\n\nBackground. Last Wednesday (April 2, 2025), a threat was posted to a social media account that was also shared widely in our community. We understand that additional threatening messages have been posted since then.\n\nStay Vigilant. The College continues to work collaboratively with the CNMI Department of Public Safety (DPS) on this matter. We encourage all students and employees to remain vigilant and to always report suspicious activity to NMC faculty and staff. To support ongoing safety efforts, follow these important guidelines:\n\n• If you encounter an imminent threat or danger, call 911\n\n• Remain aware of your surroundings and report any suspicious activity immediately to NMC Security at (670) 287-4218 or DPS at 911.\n\n• Stay connected by checking your official NMC emails and other official communications\n\n• Follow campus safety protocols and instructions from NMC and DPS officials.\n\nFlexibility. For the remainder of this week, the College has provided students and employees additional flexibility to help address some of the lingering anxiety and to help ensure a safe and comfortable learning environment. This includes:\n\n• Providing faculty with flexibility to transition their classes to a virtual or online format if they choose to do so. Students should monitor any announcements from their instructors through their NMC email accounts or through NMC Online (Moodle).\n\n• Providing NMC staff with the option to telework in coordination with their supervisors. Staff members who telework must ensure that they provide signage or other means to let others know how students or community members can access their department’s services.\n\n• Encouraging instructors and student services to extend grace and flexibility to students where appropriate and to also guide and direct students to professional mental and health services. Additional details about Student Services will be provided by the Office of the Dean of Student Support Services.\n\n• Providing additional counseling support to students and employees. NMC counseling services and the Community Guidance Center (CGC) Wellness Clinic are available from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm, Monday through Friday. NMC counselors can be contacted by email at nmc.counselors@marianas.edu, while the CGC can be reached by calling (670) 323-6560/1. If you need immediate assistance outside this time frame, please call or text the 988 Crisis Hotline.\n\nStay Informed. All students and employees should continue to monitor their official NMC email accounts for any announcements, including information that may involve safety precautions or impacts on class schedules. Please also monitor announcements on official NMC platforms, including:\n\n• NMC website\n\n• NMC Facebook Page\n\n• NMC Instagram\n\n• News outlets, including radio stations\n\nAgain, we emphasize that students’ and employees’ safety is our top priority. We will continue to update you, as appropriate, of any further developments or if there are any changes to this situation.",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://www.marianas.edu/proanews/campus-advisory-04-07-2025-update-as-of-5-00pm",
      "sourceDescription": "NMC ProaNews Campus Advisory update 04.07.2025 5:00pm",
      "annotations": [
        "Issued at 5:00 PM ChST on Monday, April 7, 2025, five days after the original threat",
        "Title changed from 'Campus Alert' to 'Campus Advisory,' signaling the institution's downgrade of the perceived risk level",
        "Sustained counseling support is unusual in a closure announcement and reflects the small-community trauma of having a named threat circulate on local Instagram"
      ],
      "characterCount": 3762
    }
  ],
  "context": "Northern Marianas College, the only accredited institution of higher education in the [Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Marianas_College), serves roughly 1,300 students across a main campus in As Terlaje, Saipan, plus instructional sites on Tinian and Rota. On the evening of [April 2, 2025](https://www.mvariety.com/news/local/police-investigating-threat-to-nmc/article_b303da99-95ea-4261-a149-84b746e4a6de.html), an Instagram story posted by the account @kirowantsrevenge_ (three words and a gun emoji, \"NMC just wait\") circulated widely through the close-knit island community within hours. NMC's Emergency Response Team activated that night, and the CNMI Department of Public Safety placed uniformed officers on the As Terlaje campus. Over the following days additional threatening messages were posted to social media, prompting NMC to publish [further campus alerts on April 5](https://www.marianas.edu/proanews/campus-alert-04-05-2025-update-as-of-5-00pm-april-5-2025) and [April 7](https://www.marianas.edu/proanews/campus-advisory-04-07-2025-update-as-of-5-00pm). Faculty were authorized to move classes online and staff were offered telework. DPS's repeated assessment was that no credible threat existed. The incident is notable as one of the only documented multi-day campus-alert sequences in CNMI history.",
  "keyFindings": [
    "An anonymous Instagram story containing only three words and a gun emoji triggered six days of heightened security at the territory's sole college",
    "NMC published three sequential alerts (04.02, 04.05, 04.07), a rare extended-incident communication pattern from a CNMI institution",
    "The college's response combined physical security (uniformed DPS officers) with academic continuity (virtual class authorization) and pastoral care (extended counseling hours), a comprehensive playbook for a small-territory institution"
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "title": "Campus Alert | 04.02.2025 - 9:20PM (Northern Marianas College ProaNews)",
      "url": "https://www.marianas.edu/proanews/campus-alert-04-02-2025-9-20pm",
      "type": "official-archive"
    },
    {
      "title": "Campus Alert 04.05.2025 - Update As of 5:00pm April 5, 2025 (NMC ProaNews)",
      "url": "https://www.marianas.edu/proanews/campus-alert-04-05-2025-update-as-of-5-00pm-april-5-2025",
      "type": "official-archive"
    },
    {
      "title": "Campus Advisory 04.07.2025 - Update As of 5:00pm (NMC ProaNews)",
      "url": "https://www.marianas.edu/proanews/campus-advisory-04-07-2025-update-as-of-5-00pm",
      "type": "official-archive"
    },
    {
      "title": "Police investigating threat to NMC (Marianas Variety)",
      "url": "https://www.mvariety.com/news/local/police-investigating-threat-to-nmc/article_b303da99-95ea-4261-a149-84b746e4a6de.html",
      "type": "local-media"
    }
  ],
  "confidence": "high",
  "tags": [
    "social-media-threat",
    "instagram",
    "cnmi",
    "saipan",
    "northern-mariana-islands",
    "territory",
    "no-credible-threat",
    "virtual-classes",
    "uniformed-officers"
  ],
  "dateAdded": "2026-05-14",
  "lastUpdated": "2026-07-17",
  "addedBy": "ingestion"
}