Campus Alert Archive
Hocking

Hocking College Evacuates John Light Hall After Phone Bomb Threat Tied to Nationwide Ethiopia-Originating Hoax Wave

OHbomb threatemergency notificationmedium confidence

Hocking College in Nelsonville, Ohio, received a phone bomb threat on July 12, 2022, and evacuated John Light Hall at approximately 2:00 PM EST. The Scioto Post confirmed the incident was connected to simultaneous threats at Zane State College and Ohio University Zanesville and a broader national hoax campaign that the FBI traced to IP addresses in Ethiopia. An all-clear was issued after no device was found.

Alerts
2
Response
—
Killed
—
Injured
—
Institution
Hocking College
Community College · OH
~2,800 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 ALERTUnknown
Approximate reconstruction282 chars
Hocking College Alert: A bomb threat has been received via phone. John Light Hall is being evacuated immediately. Please evacuate John Light Hall and move away from the building. Do not enter John Light Hall until further notice. Campus police and Nelsonville police are responding.

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

The Scioto Post reported the Hocking College police department sent out an alert around 2:00 PM EST ordering immediate evacuation of John Light Hall following the phone bomb threat received on July 12, 2022.
The DHS Tripwire database logged the July 12, 2022 Nelsonville Ohio bomb threat, confirming the incident involved Hocking College and was part of a broader pattern of coordinated campus bomb threats that day.
ALL CLEARUnknown
Approximate reconstruction186 chars
Hocking College: All clear. Law enforcement has completed a search of John Light Hall and found no explosive device. The building is now safe to re-enter. Thank you for your cooperation.

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

The Scioto Post confirmed an all-clear was given at Hocking College after the July 12, 2022 bomb threat, consistent with the FBI's assessment that the nationwide wave of campus bomb threats that day were hoaxes originating from Ethiopia.
Hocking College's bomb threat was among several that targeted Ohio community colleges on July 12, 2022, alongside simultaneous threats at Zane State College and Ohio University Zanesville -- all part of what the FBI determined was a nationwide wave of hoax bomb threats traced to IP addresses in Ethiopia.
Context

Background

Hocking College is a community college in Nelsonville, Ohio, serving the rural Appalachian region of southeastern Ohio with an enrollment of approximately 2,800 students. On July 12, 2022, the college received a phone bomb threat that prompted evacuation of John Light Hall at approximately 2:00 PM EST. The incident was one of multiple simultaneous bomb threats targeting Ohio community colleges that afternoon -- including Zane State College and Ohio University Zanesville -- as well as West Virginia Northern Community College in Wheeling, Belmont College in Ohio, West Virginia University at Parkersburg, and Washington State Community College in Marietta, Ohio, all occurring on the same afternoon. The FBI investigated the wave of bomb threats and determined they originated from IP addresses in Ethiopia, consistent with a broader pattern of hoax threats targeting US colleges and universities in July 2022. The DHS Tripwire database logged the Hocking College incident as one of the coordinated bomb threats from that date. No explosive devices were found at any of the targeted institutions. Hocking College serves one of Ohio's most economically distressed rural counties; the bomb threat briefly disrupted summer semester operations but did not result in injuries or property damage.
Analysis

Key Findings

Hocking College received a phone bomb threat on July 12, 2022 at approximately 2:00 PM EST and evacuated John Light Hall; an all-clear was given after no device was found
The incident was part of a wave of simultaneous bomb threats targeting Ohio River Valley community colleges that afternoon, which the FBI traced to IP addresses in Ethiopia as a nationwide hoax campaign
Hocking College joins Zane State, Ohio University Zanesville, WVNCC, Belmont College, WVU Parkersburg, and Washington State Community College as confirmed targets in the July 12, 2022 Ohio River Valley community college bomb threat wave
Provenance

Sources

  1. News
    Bomb Threat at Hocking College, May be Connected to Other Threats
    sciotopost.com
  2. Official
    July 12, 2022 - Nelsonville, Ohio - Bomb Threat
    tripwire.dhs.gov
  3. national media
    Bomb threats disrupt campuses across the country
    insidehighered.com
Tags
bomb-threatohiocommunity-collegeappalachianohio-river-valleycoordinated-threatshoaxfbiconfirmed-hoax
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion