{
  "id": "2024-02-22-queens-college-cuny-bomb-threat",
  "slug": "queens-college-cuny-bomb-threat-2024-02-22",
  "institution": {
    "name": "Queens College, City University of New York",
    "shortName": "Queens College",
    "state": "NY",
    "type": "public-masters",
    "alertSystemName": "CUNY Alert",
    "enrollment": 20000
  },
  "incident": {
    "date": "2024-02-22",
    "type": "bomb-threat",
    "cleryCategory": "emergency-notification",
    "resolution": "confirmed-hoax",
    "headline": "Emailed bomb threat forces evacuation and a shift to remote classes; nothing found",
    "headlinePublic": "Emailed bomb threat forces evacuation and a shift to remote classes; nothing found",
    "summary": "On February 22, 2024, Queens College and York College both received [emailed bomb threats around 12:50 PM EST](https://gothamist.com/news/2-cuny-campuses-in-queens-evacuated-due-to-bomb-threat-nypd), forcing evacuations and a shift to remote classes. NYPD responded and [cleared both schools by 2:30 PM EST](https://www.fox5ny.com/news/queens-york-college-credible-threat-evacuation) after finding no explosive devices. Queens College's evacuation order came nearly two hours after the threat was received, drawing criticism.",
    "outcome": "NYPD found no explosive devices at either campus. Both Queens College and York College resumed regular operations the following day. The delayed evacuation at Queens College prompted questions from the PSC faculty union about CUNY's emergency communication procedures."
  },
  "alerts": [
    {
      "sequence": 1,
      "type": "initial",
      "timestamp": "2024-02-22T14:45:00-05:00",
      "channel": "push-notification",
      "verbatimText": "Due to a credible threat to Queens College, classes will go remote for the rest of the day as of 2:45 PM on Thursday, 2/22/24. All Queens College campus buildings will be closed today until further notice. If you are on campus, please immediately exit calmly through the nearest safest exit.",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://gothamist.com/news/2-cuny-campuses-in-queens-evacuated-due-to-bomb-threat-nypd",
      "sourceDescription": "Gothamist and Audacy 1010 WINS reporting quoting the CUNY Alert push notification verbatim",
      "annotations": [
        "Verbatim text composed from two consecutive segments of the same 2:45 PM EST CUNY Alert push, both quoted in Gothamist and 1010 WINS coverage on February 22, 2024",
        "The CUNY Alert was sent at 2:45 PM EST, nearly two hours after the email threat was received around 12:50 PM EST, a delay later spotlighted by the PSC faculty union",
        "York College had already moved classes remote at 1:15 PM EST, well before Queens College's 2:45 PM EST evacuation notice"
      ],
      "characterCount": 291
    },
    {
      "sequence": 2,
      "type": "all-clear",
      "timestampApprox": "Late afternoon of February 22, 2024, after NYPD cleared the campus (clearing reported by approximately 2:30 PM EST)",
      "channel": "push-notification",
      "verbatimText": "",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": false,
      "sourceDescription": "Fox 5 New York and QNS reporting",
      "annotations": []
    }
  ],
  "context": "On February 22, 2024, [two CUNY senior colleges in Queens received emailed bomb threats](https://gothamist.com/news/2-cuny-campuses-in-queens-evacuated-due-to-bomb-threat-nypd) around 12:50 PM EST. York College in Jamaica moved to remote classes at 1:15 PM EST, but Queens College in Flushing did not issue its CUNY Alert evacuation notice until [2:45 PM EST, nearly two hours after the threat was received](https://psc-cuny.org/clarion/2024/june/qc-evacuation-delay-spotlights-cuny-exec/). NYPD responded to both campuses and found no explosive devices, clearing both schools by approximately 2:30 PM EST. The delayed response at Queens College drew sharp criticism from the Professional Staff Congress (PSC), the CUNY faculty and staff union, which questioned why [the evacuation was not ordered immediately](https://www.theknightnews.com/2024/02/26/developing-queens-college-receives-bomb-threat/) and why the CUNY Alert system notification came so late. The incident highlighted ongoing concerns about emergency communication at CUNY's multi-campus system, where individual colleges may respond at different speeds to the same threat.",
  "keyFindings": [
    "York College evacuated nearly 90 minutes before Queens College despite both receiving threats at approximately the same time",
    "The nearly two-hour delay between threat receipt and evacuation order at Queens College drew criticism from the PSC faculty union",
    "NYPD found no explosive devices at either campus, confirming the threats were hoaxes"
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "title": "2 CUNY campuses in Queens evacuated due to bomb threat: NYPD (Gothamist)",
      "url": "https://gothamist.com/news/2-cuny-campuses-in-queens-evacuated-due-to-bomb-threat-nypd",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "Bomb threat forces lockdown at York College and Queens College (Fox 5 New York)",
      "url": "https://www.fox5ny.com/news/queens-york-college-credible-threat-evacuation",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "QC evacuation delay spotlights CUNY exec (PSC CUNY Clarion)",
      "url": "https://psc-cuny.org/clarion/2024/june/qc-evacuation-delay-spotlights-cuny-exec/",
      "type": "other"
    },
    {
      "title": "Queens College Receives Bomb Threat (The Knight News)",
      "url": "https://www.theknightnews.com/2024/02/26/developing-queens-college-receives-bomb-threat/",
      "type": "student-newspaper"
    }
  ],
  "confidence": "medium",
  "tags": [
    "bomb-threat",
    "evacuation",
    "hoax",
    "new-york",
    "cuny",
    "delayed-response",
    "multi-campus",
    "email-threat"
  ],
  "dateAdded": "2026-05-03",
  "lastUpdated": "2026-07-16",
  "addedBy": "ingestion"
}