{
  "id": "2025-09-22-southern-university-fisher-hall-evacuation",
  "slug": "southern-university-fisher-hall-evacuation-2025-09-22",
  "institution": {
    "name": "Southern University and A&M College",
    "shortName": "SUBR",
    "state": "LA",
    "type": "hbcu",
    "enrollment": 6500,
    "alertSystemName": "SU Alert"
  },
  "incident": {
    "date": "2025-09-22",
    "type": "suspicious-package",
    "cleryCategory": "emergency-notification",
    "headline": "Suspicious package, September 22, 2025",
    "summary": "On the morning of September 22, 2025, [Southern University and A&M College evacuated Fisher Hall](https://www.wafb.com/2025/09/22/southern-university-evacuates-students-fisher-hall-no-threat-campus/) after a suspicious item was found in the parking lot adjacent to the building. The university issued an advisory just before 10:30 a.m. CDT asking students to avoid Fisher Hall and surrounding areas. [The SU Police Department, working with local law enforcement, cleared the scene by just before 1:00 p.m.](https://www.wbrz.com/news/southern-university-evacuates-john-w-fisher-hall-out-of-an-abundance-of-caution-/) This evacuation came just 11 days after Southern University was one of six HBCUs targeted in a coordinated hoax threat on September 11.",
    "outcome": "No threat found. Fisher Hall reopened before 1:00 p.m. CDT on September 22, 2025. Normal operations resumed. The suspicious item was determined to pose no threat to the campus.",
    "resolution": "unfounded"
  },
  "alerts": [
    {
      "sequence": 1,
      "type": "initial",
      "timestamp": "2025-09-22T10:30:00-05:00",
      "channel": "email",
      "verbatimText": "",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": false,
      "sourceDescription": "Reconstructed from WBRZ and WAFB coverage of the September 22, 2025 evacuation",
      "annotations": []
    },
    {
      "sequence": 2,
      "type": "all-clear",
      "timestamp": "2025-09-22T13:00:00-05:00",
      "channel": "email",
      "verbatimText": "Southern University and A&M College has received an all clear for Fisher Hall. The SU Police Department, in coordination with local law enforcement agencies, has thoroughly investigated the situation and determined there is no threat. Normal operations may now resume. We thank the campus community for their patience and cooperation.",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceDescription": "WAFB italicizes the full Southern University Fisher Hall all-clear",
      "annotations": [
        "Dual HTML + second-blind of the WAFB italicized university all-clear. sha256 4d3506cc7d36e8e0bf49dd47b64da1be5bd8ce0524d17324d69a0bc55504d35d. A&M ampersand preserved.",
        "Seq 1 stays unconfirmed."
      ],
      "characterCount": 334,
      "confidence": "high",
      "sourceUrl": "https://www.wafb.com/2025/09/22/southern-university-evacuates-students-fisher-hall-no-threat-campus/"
    }
  ],
  "context": "[Southern University and A&M College](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_University_and_A%26M_College), the flagship HBCU in Louisiana and one of the oldest HBCUs in the country, experienced a tense autumn semester in 2025. On [September 11, 2025, Southern was one of six HBCUs nationally to receive coordinated hoax threats](https://www.wwno.org/education/2025-09-11/southern-university-other-hbcus-close-due-to-potential-threat) that prompted a campus-wide lockdown; the FBI later characterized those threats as hoaxes. Just 11 days later, [a suspicious item found in the Fisher Hall parking lot](https://www.wafb.com/2025/09/22/southern-university-evacuates-students-fisher-hall-no-threat-campus/) prompted a precautionary evacuation. The SU Police Department coordinated with Baton Rouge Police and other local agencies. The evacuation lasted approximately two and a half hours before the scene was cleared. A [third evacuation followed on September 30, 2025, when the John B. Cade Library was evacuated due to a potential threat](https://www.wbrz.com/news/southern-university-evacuates-john-b-cade-library-due-to-potential-threat-third-evacuation-in-month/), marking three major campus safety incidents in a single month. The pattern of elevated threat activity at Southern University in fall 2025 mirrored a broader national trend of HBCU-targeted threats.",
  "sources": [
    {
      "title": "Southern University issues all clear after Fisher Hall evacuated; normal operations resume - WAFB",
      "url": "https://www.wafb.com/2025/09/22/southern-university-evacuates-students-fisher-hall-no-threat-campus/",
      "type": "local-media",
      "accessDate": "2026-05-31"
    },
    {
      "title": "Southern University reopens John W. Fisher Hall after evacuation due to suspicious item - WBRZ",
      "url": "https://www.wbrz.com/news/southern-university-evacuates-john-w-fisher-hall-out-of-an-abundance-of-caution-/",
      "type": "local-media",
      "accessDate": "2026-05-31"
    },
    {
      "title": "Evacuation issued for Southern University Fisher Hall after suspicious item found - NewsBreak/BRProud",
      "url": "https://www.newsbreak.com/brproud-1590545/4249098794619-evacuation-issued-for-southern-university-s-fisher-hall-after-suspicious-item-found",
      "type": "local-media",
      "accessDate": "2026-05-31"
    },
    {
      "title": "Southern University evacuates John B. Cade Library due to potential threat; third evacuation in month - WBRZ",
      "url": "https://www.wbrz.com/news/southern-university-evacuates-john-b-cade-library-due-to-potential-threat-third-evacuation-in-month/",
      "type": "local-media",
      "accessDate": "2026-05-31"
    }
  ],
  "confidence": "medium",
  "tags": [
    "suspicious-package",
    "hbcu",
    "louisiana",
    "baton-rouge",
    "evacuation",
    "hbcu-threats-2025",
    "southern-university",
    "repeated-alerts"
  ],
  "dateAdded": "2026-05-31",
  "lastUpdated": "2026-09-14",
  "addedBy": "ingestion"
}