{
  "id": "2025-11-22-rhodes-college-bomb-threat",
  "slug": "rhodes-college-bomb-threat-2025-11-22",
  "institution": {
    "name": "Rhodes College",
    "shortName": "Rhodes",
    "state": "TN",
    "type": "private-liberal-arts",
    "alertSystemName": "Rhodes Alerts"
  },
  "incident": {
    "date": "2025-11-22",
    "type": "bomb-threat",
    "cleryCategory": "emergency-notification",
    "resolution": "no-explosive-found",
    "headline": "Bomb threat empties an already quiet pre-holiday campus",
    "headlinePublic": "Bomb threat empties an already quiet pre-holiday campus",
    "summary": "On Saturday evening, November 22, 2025, [Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhodes_College) received a bomb threat that triggered an immediate campus lockdown and building evacuations. [Memphis police arrived around 6:20 PM CST](https://www.fox13memphis.com/news/rhodes-college-receives-bomb-threat-no-explosive-devices-found-school-spokesperson-says/article_51255508-a243-4dc9-ba04-896f53590598.html) and conducted a thorough sweep with Campus Safety. No explosive devices were found. Because the campus was nearly empty ahead of Thanksgiving break, only a small number of people were affected. The threat remained under active police investigation.",
    "outcome": "No explosive devices found. Campus cleared and reopened. Investigation ongoing as of the initial reporting.",
    "casualties": {
      "killed": 0,
      "injured": 0
    }
  },
  "alerts": [
    {
      "sequence": 1,
      "type": "initial",
      "timestampApprox": "Saturday evening, November 22, 2025, prior to 6:20 PM CST police arrival",
      "channel": "sms",
      "verbatimText": "",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": false,
      "sourceDescription": "Reconstructed from Fox13 Memphis and WREG reporting that 'the school was immediately put on lockdown' and 'buildings were also evacuated' after a campus dispatcher received a bomb threat on Saturday evening November 22, 2025",
      "annotations": []
    },
    {
      "sequence": 2,
      "type": "all-clear",
      "timestampApprox": "Evening of November 22, 2025, after police sweep concluded",
      "channel": "sms",
      "verbatimText": "",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": false,
      "sourceDescription": "Reconstructed from Fox13 Memphis reporting that 'Campus Safety officers and law enforcement checked the campus, and no explosive devices were found'",
      "annotations": []
    },
    {
      "sequence": 3,
      "type": "follow-up",
      "timestampApprox": "November 30, 2025, President Jennifer Collins community letter about the November 22 bomb threat",
      "channel": "email",
      "verbatimText": "Dear Rhodes Community\n\nI am writing to update you about the bomb threat we received last Saturday evening, November 22. An unknown individual called Campus Safety and stated there was a bomb on campus. Campus Safety took immediate action to notify the community, evacuate our buildings, secure law enforcement backup, and conduct a comprehensive sweep of every campus building. I am very grateful for their calm and quick response. As part of Campus Safety’s comprehensive and regular training program, officers had recently attended the FBI’s training program on bomb threats and swatting calls, so they were well prepared and knew exactly how to proceed. I am also very grateful to the MPD, FBI, ATF, and the many local police departments who responded so quickly to assist us and help with the search.\n\nThe FBI is taking the lead on the investigation and I will share additional information if they are able to identify a suspect, although the individual appears to have used a spoof number originating from thousands of miles away. Unfortunately, bomb threat hoaxes and false reports of active shooters have plagued dozens of college campuses this fall, including at Centre College the day before we received our call and at the University of Tennessee Knoxville earlier this fall. If you have any information about our threat, please contact Campus Safety immediately so they can pass the information on to the FBI.\n\nThese kinds of events can be extremely disruptive and anxiety-inducing. If you need support processing your emotions related to this event, mental health support is available to students 24 hours a day at 855-850-4301, and the Student Counseling Center is available Monday for drop-ins in Moore Moore Hall until 5 p.m. to provide counseling and support services for students. Faculty and staff may contact Concern 24/7 at 901-458-4000. This service is free and confidential.\n\nThank you all for responding so calmly and thoughtfully in this challenging situation. I wish you all the best with the end of the semester.\n\nJennifer Collins\nPresident",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://www.rhodes.edu/campus-life/services-support/campus-safety/safety-resources/critical-campus-safety-communications",
      "sourceDescription": "Rhodes College Critical Campus Safety Communications: President Jennifer Collins letter on the November 22 bomb threat",
      "annotations": [
        "2026-09-13 catch-up b23 P2 .edu. Dual HTML extract of the Dear Rhodes Community letter through Jennifer Collins / President. Independent second-blind sha agreement. Seq 1-2 reconstructed Campus Safety alerts stay unconfirmed. First burst not newly confirmed: no 25-pass."
      ],
      "characterCount": 2066
    }
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "title": "Rhodes College receives bomb threat, no explosive devices found (Fox13 Memphis)",
      "url": "https://www.fox13memphis.com/news/rhodes-college-receives-bomb-threat-no-explosive-devices-found-school-spokesperson-says/article_51255508-a243-4dc9-ba04-896f53590598.html",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "Bomb threat reported at Rhodes College, no explosive devices found (WREG Memphis)",
      "url": "https://wreg.com/news/bomb-threat-reported-at-rhodes-college-no-explosive-devices-found/",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "Critical Campus Safety Communications (Rhodes College)",
      "url": "https://www.rhodes.edu/campus-life/services-support/campus-safety/safety-resources/critical-campus-safety-communications",
      "type": "official-archive"
    }
  ],
  "context": "[Rhodes College, a private liberal arts institution with approximately 2,000 students located in the Midtown neighborhood of Memphis, Tennessee](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhodes_College), received a bomb threat on the evening of Saturday, November 22, 2025, shortly before Thanksgiving break. A campus dispatcher received the threat from an unknown person. The college immediately placed the campus on lockdown and evacuated buildings. [Memphis police arrived at approximately 6:20 PM CST and conducted a systematic sweep of campus](https://www.fox13memphis.com/news/rhodes-college-receives-bomb-threat-no-explosive-devices-found-school-spokesperson-says/article_51255508-a243-4dc9-ba04-896f53590598.html). No explosive devices were found. Because the campus was nearly deserted ahead of the holiday break, the incident affected only a small number of people who were on campus. [Rhodes Alerts uses Blackboard Connect](https://www.rhodes.edu/campus-life/services-support/campus-safety/safety-resources/critical-campus-safety-communications) to simultaneously text, email, and call students, faculty, and staff during emergencies. The threat remained under police investigation; no suspect was announced in the immediate reporting. The timing -- pre-Thanksgiving weekend, with minimal campus population -- is a known vulnerability window for bomb threats at small residential colleges.",
  "keyFindings": [
    "Pre-holiday timing with near-empty campus conditions significantly reduced the operational complexity of the bomb threat response and the number of community members directly affected",
    "Rhodes Alerts via Blackboard Connect illustrates the standard small-college mass notification approach: a single platform covering SMS, email, and voice simultaneously",
    "This is the second Rhodes College case in the archive, alongside the 2021 Drew Rainer home invasion murder -- illustrating distinct threat types affecting a small liberal arts college in an urban environment"
  ],
  "confidence": "medium",
  "tags": [
    "bomb-threat",
    "evacuation",
    "no-device-found",
    "thanksgiving",
    "memphis",
    "tennessee",
    "private-liberal-arts",
    "blackboard-connect",
    "pre-holiday"
  ],
  "dateAdded": "2026-05-31",
  "lastUpdated": "2026-09-27",
  "addedBy": "ingestion"
}