Campus Alert Archive
Herzing Minneapolis

Anonymous Caller Tells Herzing Library Student There Is a Bomb Where You Are Right Now

MNbomb threatemergency notificationmedium confidence
UnfoundedNo evidence of an actual threat was found. The institutional response is documented because the alert communication is identical to what would occur during a real incident.

On February 21, 2017, a student studying in the library at Herzing University's Crystal, Minnesota campus received an anonymous cell phone call in which the caller said "a bomb where you are right now" and immediately hung up. Crystal Police evacuated the building and the Minneapolis Bomb Squad K-9 unit swept the premises. The campus received an all-clear after the sweep found no explosive device and normal operations resumed.

Alerts
2
Response
—
Killed
—
Injured
—
Institution
Herzing University - Minneapolis
For Profit · MN
~700 students
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

2 messages in sequence

Some alert texts below are approximate reconstructions from news coverage, not confirmed verbatim transcripts. Reconstructed texts are shown in italic with a dashed border. Verified verbatim texts have a solid border and are marked accordingly.

INITIAL ALERTPhone
Approximate reconstruction30 chars
a bomb where you are right now

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

This is the text of the anonymous threat call received by a student in the Herzing library at approximately 7:00 PM CST on February 21, 2017; the caller delivered this message and immediately hung up.
The call was received on the student's personal cell phone while he was in the Herzing University library at 5700 West Broadway, Crystal, Minnesota.
Crystal is in the Central Time Zone (UTC-6 in February).
ALL CLEARUnknown
Approximate reconstruction157 chars
Herzing University has been cleared by law enforcement following a bomb threat. Students and staff may return to the building. Normal operations will resume.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Reconstructed from CBS Minnesota report indicating Crystal Police and the Minneapolis Bomb Squad K-9 unit swept the building and found nothing.
The building was evacuated while the sweep was conducted and operations resumed after the all-clear.
Context

Background

Herzing University is a for-profit university with campuses across the United States, known primarily for career-oriented programs in healthcare, business, and technology. Its Crystal, Minnesota campus was located at 5700 West Broadway, approximately ten miles northwest of downtown Minneapolis. On the evening of February 21, 2017, a student in the campus library received a short, menacing anonymous phone call: an unknown person told him "a bomb where you are right now" and hung up immediately. Crystal Police were called and responded to the building, while the Minneapolis Bomb Squad's K-9 unit swept the premises. No explosive device was found and the building was cleared. CBS Minnesota reported the incident as notable partly because Herzing subsequently announced in late 2017 that it would be vacating the building at 5702 West Broadway, effectively closing the Crystal campus. For-profit campuses, which often occupy leased commercial properties rather than traditional campus buildings, face the same bomb-threat risks as residential universities despite their distinctly different physical footprints.
Analysis

Key Findings

An anonymous caller delivered a terse three-word bomb threat directly to a student's cell phone in the library, bypassing institutional communication channels entirely
Crystal Police and the Minneapolis Bomb Squad responded to a for-profit career college in a strip-mall-style commercial building, illustrating that non-traditional campuses face the same threats
Herzing's Crystal campus closed later in 2017, making this one of the last major recorded incidents at that location
Outcome
Building evacuated. Minneapolis Bomb Squad K-9 sweep found no explosive device. All-clear issued; operations resumed.
Provenance

Sources

  1. News
    Herzing University Building Evacuated After Bomb Threat - CBS Minnesota
    cbsnews.com
  2. News
    Former Herzing University building to be turned into self storage - Hometown Source
    hometownsource.com
Tags
bomb-threatfor-profitlibrarycell-phone-threatcrystal-minnesotaherzingk9-sweepunfoundedUnfounded
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion