{
  "id": "2017-06-27-ut-dallas-bomb-threat-hoax",
  "slug": "ut-dallas-bomb-threat-hoax-2017-06-27",
  "institution": {
    "name": "The University of Texas at Dallas",
    "shortName": "UT Dallas",
    "state": "TX",
    "type": "public-r1",
    "alertSystemName": "Comet Alert",
    "enrollment": 29000
  },
  "incident": {
    "date": "2017-06-27",
    "type": "bomb-threat",
    "cleryCategory": "emergency-notification",
    "resolution": "confirmed-hoax",
    "headline": "Phoned-in bomb threat prompts campus-wide evacuation; determined to be a hoax",
    "headlinePublic": "Phoned-in bomb threat prompts campus-wide evacuation; determined to be a hoax",
    "summary": "On Tuesday afternoon, June 27, 2017, UT Dallas ordered a [campus-wide evacuation of every building and parking garage](https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/ut-dallas-orders-campus-wide-evacuation/27999/) after the university received a phoned-in bomb threat. The Comet Alert text and the university's Twitter account directed students, faculty, staff and visitors to leave all structures and remain in parking lots until further notice. [The all-clear came roughly 40 minutes later](https://patch.com/texas/dallas-ftworth/ut-dallas-evacuated-bomb-threat), after police determined the threat was a hoax. UT Dallas Police said other campuses around the country received [similar threats that day](https://cw39.com/2017/06/27/breaking-possible-bomb-threat-at-ut-dallas-staff-evacuated/), suggesting it was part of a coordinated hoax wave.",
    "outcome": "All-clear issued at approximately 3:20 p.m. CDT, about 40 minutes after the evacuation order. Police said the bomb threat was a hoax and was part of a series of similar threats made to colleges around the country that day. No arrest was publicly announced. Summer-session classes resumed the following day.",
    "casualties": {
      "killed": 0,
      "injured": 0
    }
  },
  "alerts": [
    {
      "sequence": 1,
      "type": "initial",
      "timestamp": "2017-06-27T14:40:00-05:00",
      "channel": "sms",
      "verbatimText": "",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": false,
      "sourceUrl": "https://www.cbsnews.com/texas/news/ut-dallas-evacuated-after-bomb-threat/",
      "sourceDescription": "CBS Texas quoting the UT Dallas Comet Alert verbatim",
      "annotations": []
    },
    {
      "sequence": 2,
      "type": "update",
      "timestampApprox": "Tuesday afternoon, June 27, 2017, shortly after the initial alert",
      "channel": "twitter-x",
      "verbatimText": "We received a bomb threat and are working with UTDPD to make sure the campus is safe.",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://twitter.com/UT_Dallas/status/879789519872172032",
      "sourceDescription": "UT Dallas official Twitter (@UT_Dallas)",
      "annotations": [
        "Posted to the university's main Twitter account rather than a dedicated alert handle, reflecting that in 2017 most universities did not yet have a separate alert-specific social account",
        "The plain-language phrasing ('we received a bomb threat') contrasts with the Comet Alert SMS, which never used the word 'bomb'; UT Dallas appears to have segmented bluntness to Twitter and operational urgency to SMS",
        "The tweet served as the public confirmation of why the evacuation was happening; the SMS alone did not state a cause"
      ],
      "characterCount": 85
    },
    {
      "sequence": 3,
      "type": "all-clear",
      "timestamp": "2017-06-27T15:20:00-05:00",
      "channel": "sms",
      "verbatimText": "UTDPD say bomb threat was a hoax. You may now enter the buildings and parking structures.",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/ut-dallas-bomb-threat-was-a-hoax/287-452505230",
      "sourceDescription": "WFAA quoting the UT Dallas all-clear Comet Alert",
      "annotations": [
        "Sent approximately 40 minutes after the initial evacuation order, a relatively quick resolution",
        "Explicitly characterized the threat as a 'hoax' in the all-clear",
        "The brevity (89 characters) reflects how short evacuations can be when a threat is quickly determined non-credible, no search-by-building update needed"
      ],
      "characterCount": 89
    }
  ],
  "context": "On the afternoon of Tuesday, June 27, 2017, [UT Dallas ordered a complete evacuation of its 455-acre Richardson campus](https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/ut-dallas-orders-campus-wide-evacuation/27999/) at approximately 2:40 p.m. CDT after receiving a phoned-in bomb threat. Comet Alert text messages directed everyone (faculty, staff, students, and visitors) to leave every building and parking garage and to wait in parking lots. The university's Twitter account followed within minutes, stating plainly that 'we received a bomb threat and are working with UTDPD to make sure the campus is safe.' Just 40 minutes later, at approximately 3:20 p.m. CDT, [UT Dallas Police issued an all-clear](https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/ut-dallas-bomb-threat-was-a-hoax/287-452505230) characterizing the threat as a hoax. UTD Police noted that [other campuses around the country received similar threats the same day](https://cw39.com/2017/06/27/breaking-possible-bomb-threat-at-ut-dallas-staff-evacuated/), suggesting it was part of a coordinated hoax wave, a pattern that would become endemic at US universities over the following years. The June 2017 evacuation occurred during the summer session, when campus population was at its lowest, which contributed to the speed of the clearance. No arrest was publicly announced.",
  "keyFindings": [
    "UT Dallas's 40-minute resolution was relatively quick for a campus of its size, reflecting the value of a low-population summer session and a phoned-in threat with no specified target building",
    "The split-channel strategy (terse evacuation SMS, plain-language Twitter explanation) is an early example of channel segmentation that became standard practice at US universities by the early 2020s",
    "The all-clear SMS explicitly characterized the threat as a 'hoax' rather than using softer language such as 'no credible threat found'"
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "title": "UT Dallas Evacuated After Bomb Threat (CBS Texas)",
      "url": "https://www.cbsnews.com/texas/news/ut-dallas-evacuated-after-bomb-threat/",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "UT Dallas Orders Campus-Wide Evacuation After Bomb Threat (NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth)",
      "url": "https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/ut-dallas-orders-campus-wide-evacuation/27999/",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "UT Dallas bomb threat was a hoax (WFAA)",
      "url": "https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/ut-dallas-bomb-threat-was-a-hoax/287-452505230",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "Students return to UT Dallas after being evacuated for 'hoax' bomb threat (KXAN)",
      "url": "https://www.kxan.com/news/students-return-to-ut-dallas-after-being-evacuated-for-hoax-bomb-threat/",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "UT Dallas official Twitter post about bomb threat (@UT_Dallas)",
      "url": "https://twitter.com/UT_Dallas/status/879789519872172032",
      "type": "official-social"
    }
  ],
  "confidence": "high",
  "tags": [
    "bomb-threat",
    "hoax",
    "texas",
    "evacuation",
    "richardson",
    "ut-system",
    "summer-session",
    "2017",
    "fast-resolution"
  ],
  "dateAdded": "2026-05-13",
  "lastUpdated": "2026-07-20",
  "addedBy": "ingestion",
  "factChecked": {
    "date": "2026-05-14",
    "notes": "Verified the June 27, 2017 UT Dallas bomb-threat evacuation timeline against CBS Texas, NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth, WFAA, CW39, KTVU, KXAN, and the UT Dallas official Twitter post (status 879789519872172032). Confirmed: phoned-in threat; 2:40 PM CDT campus-wide Comet Alert ordering evacuation of all buildings and parking garages; 3:20 PM CDT all-clear (about 40 minutes); UTDPD characterized threat as 'hoax' in all-clear SMS; UTD Police noted similar threats hit other US campuses the same day; summer-session timing. Verbatim Comet Alert and all-clear texts both match published sources. No corrections needed."
  }
}