U.Va. responds to second hoax threat this academic year as false threats rise nationwide

A bomb threat that prompted evacuations at Edgar Shannon and Clemons Libraries March 13 marks the second hoax threat at the University this academic year, as similar false reports continue to affect campuses nationwide. The incident came just one day after a deadly shooting at Old Dominion University that heightened concerns about campus safety across Virginia.

Over 50 universities across the country have faced false reports of active attackers or other forms of violence in this academic year alone, prompting campus-wide lockdowns and widespread fear among students.

Many of these incidents are commonly referred to as “swatting,” in which false reports — often of active attackers or bombs — are made to prompt large-scale emergency responses from law enforcement. According to Campus Safety Magazine, many U.S. colleges have experienced similar swatting incidents this academic year, affecting more than one million students and costing institutions around $62 million in emergency response efforts.

According to the National Association of Attorneys General, the rise in these incidents is due to the increasing accessibility of anonymous online tools that can be used to report these incidents, the ability to create AI-generated voices and broader trends in online harassment and disinformation also contribute. Perpetrators of false threats often use technologies that hide caller IDs and internet-based communication tools to conceal their identities, making threats difficult for law enforcement to trace.

The Cavalier Daily conducted an analysis of archival reporting and found that bomb threats at the University have occurred intermittently for decades, with at least 18 false bomb threats reported since 1999. Many of the earlier threats were delivered through phone calls or written notes and often resulted in building evacuations and class disruptions.

While such threats are not new, their frequency and delivery methods have shifted over time. In the early 2000s, multiple bomb threats were reported at the University in quick succession.

The University has been among those affected by similar false reports prior to the March 13 bomb threat. The University received what University officials initially believed to be a credible report of an active attacker in Shannon Library Nov. 3, which prompted the University to go under a Run-Hide-Fight order for over an hour. The University did not respond to comment about the outcome or status of that investigation.

In 2002 alone, six bomb threats were reported in just one semester that led to repeated evacuations of academic buildings and policy changes over how the University responds to these threats.

The Cavalier Daily reported in 2003 that bomb threats at the University followed a broader string of similar incidents in the years after the Sept. 11 attacks. More recent incidents, however, have increasingly been linked to broader waves of hoax threats affecting multiple universities simultaneously.

Unlike earlier isolated incidents, the March 13 bomb threat at the University occurred alongside similar reports at multiple Virginia colleges the same day. The University was one of at least six Virginia colleges to receive bomb threats March 13, prompting evacuations and law enforcement responses at campus libraries across the Commonwealth. Similar threats were reported at Bridgewater College, George Mason University, Randolph-Macon College, Longwood University and Shenandoah University — all of which were cleared within hours and no credible threats were found.

The Cavalier Daily reached out to Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones’ office for an update on the investigations and did not receive a response at the time of publication.

The March 13 bomb threat came just one day after a shooting at Old Dominion University, located in Norfolk Va., which heightened concerns about campus safety across Virginia. Authorities said a gunman opened fire during an Reserve Officer Training Corps class, killing an instructor and injuring two others before being killed at the scene. While authorities have not indicated that the March 13 bomb threat and the shooting at ODU connected, the proximity of the events contributed to heightened anxiety among students as universities responded to threats.

Jennifer Wagner Davis, executive vice president and chief operating officer, and Tim Longo, associate vice president for safety and security and chief of police, acknowledged the concern of a possible connection between the March 13 bomb threat and the fatal shooting at ODU in a March 13 message to the University community.

“Incidents like these are alarming even when the threats are not substantiated,” Davis and Longo said. “Today’s events were particularly unsettling given the attack at Old Dominion University yesterday, and our thoughts remain with our friends at ODU.”

According to University spokesperson Bethanie Glover, the March 13 bomb threat is still under investigation but was ultimately determined to be a hoax after law enforcement conducted a full sweep of the area.

“The University has a comprehensive threat assessment and management process that resolves most threats without disruption to operations,” Glover said. “It's impossible to fully prevent threats, real or false, from reaching University phone lines and email addresses. However, we have a robust reporting structure in place to learn about any threats made to members of the community or the University.”

According to Glover, buildings identified in a threat are quickly evacuated and thoroughly inspected. In the case of the March 13 bomb threat, Shannon and Clemons Libraries were cleared and searched over the course of nearly three hours and no evidence was found to substantiate the threat.

“Threats are only determined to be a hoax once we have full confidence that the threat was not credible,” Glover said.

Glover emphasized that despite the increasing frequency of such incidents, all alerts should be treated as credible.

“It's crucial that students and anyone in the University community take all safety messages issued via U.Va. Alerts seriously and take action as directed,” Glover said. “While we understand that repeated, similar incidents may be easy to disregard, U.Va. Alerts are only issued when there is a serious potential safety threat to the community.”

U.Va. Alerts provide updates every 15 minutes unless otherwise specified during active incidents, according to Glover, while University safety personnel on the ground help carry out those instructions by evacuating buildings. Students are also required to complete online active attacker response training every two years, which outlines procedures such as Run-Hide-Fight and directs students to resources like the U.Va. Ready app — a mobile app that functions as a centralized location to receive emergency alerts, report incidents, access University maps and emergency procedures.

Glover said while most threats are resolved without disruption to operations, incidents like the March 13 bomb threat can still have emotional impacts on students. Student Health and Wellness has not seen a significant increase in overall counseling usage directly tied to these incidents, but students have continued to use immediate support services such as walk-in appointments and the TimelyCare platform, according to Glover.

“Our priority is ensuring students know support is available,” Glover said. “During incidents like Friday's threat, Student Health and Wellness shares resources through its website and social media, where recent posts have reached roughly 145,000 views.”

Davis and Longo also emphasized the availability of support resources in their message to the University community following the March 13 bomb threat.

“If this alert has affected you in a way that makes it difficult to return to your normal activities, please remember that the Faculty and Employee Assistance Program has resources for faculty and staff members, and Student Health and Wellness provides several Student Support resources,” Davis and Longo said.

As investigations into recent threats continue across Virginia’s colleges and universities, Glover said the University’s approach remains consistent — treating every report as real until proven otherwise, even as false reports become more common nationwide.

U.Va. responds to second hoax threat this academic year as false threats rise nationwide

University spokesperson says the threat is still under investigation, noting that all threats are treated as credible until proven otherwise and urging students to take all alerts seriously

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