Campus Alert Archive
Northwestern

'I Am Insane, Also I Have a Gun': The Whiteboard Threat That Closed Northwestern's Multicultural Center for Two Days

ILthreat of violenceadvisoryhigh 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 the evening of February 22, 2022, student office assistants in the Multicultural Center at 1936 Sheridan Road discovered a threatening message written on a whiteboard reading 'I am insane, also I have a gun'. Northwestern leadership issued a same-night denouncement letter and closed the Multicultural Center, the Black House, and the Gender and Sexuality Resource Center while Northwestern Police investigated, ultimately closing the case without identifying a suspect.

Alerts
2
Response
—
Killed
0
Injured
0
Institution
Northwestern University
Private R1 · IL
~23,000 studentsAlertNU
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

2 messages in sequence · 1 verified verbatim

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 ALERTEmail
Verified verbatimNorthwestern University Leadership Notes letter (verbatim core paragraphs)697 chars
On Tuesday evening, student office assistants in the Multicultural Center discovered a message written on a whiteboard that said, "I am insane, also I have a gun." The office assistants immediately called the Northwestern Police Department and closed the building. Northwestern takes any act of intimidation or threat seriously and is actively investigating the incident, including reviewing available video and security footage. The MCC and The Black House at 1914 Sheridan Road remain closed, and NPD has increased its patrols in the surrounding area. The University strongly encourages anyone with information about this incident to contact NPD at 847-491-3456 or submit a Bias Incident Report.
Distributed as a 'Leadership Notes' letter rather than as an AlertNU push notification — the threat was discovered after the writer was no longer present, removing the imminence that would justify a mass-notification push
Naming the MCC and the Black House at 1914 Sheridan Road specifically signaled to the affected communities that leadership understood which spaces were targeted
Including both a tip line and the option of a Bias Incident Report acknowledges that students may prefer the bias-reporting framework to a direct call to police
FOLLOW-UPEmail
Approximate reconstruction668 chars
Multicultural Student Affairs Update: Following the threatening message discovered on February 22, all Multicultural Student Affairs spaces — the Multicultural Center, the Black House, and the Gender and Sexuality Resource Center — will reopen on Thursday. Northwestern University Police Department reviewed available video and security footage but was unable to identify a suspect or any actionable information. NUPD has increased patrols in the surrounding area. We continue to denounce this act of intimidation and to support the students and staff who were targeted. Counseling and Psychological Services and the MSA staff remain available to all who need support.

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

Closing the case without identifying a suspect — and acknowledging it openly — is unusual; most universities prefer to leave the investigation 'ongoing' to avoid signaling that perpetrators of identity-targeted intimidation can act without consequence
Pointing students to CAPS in the reopening message acknowledges that the harm of an identity-targeted threat continues after the immediate physical risk has passed
Reopening on a Thursday (two days after the Tuesday discovery) is the minimum closure window that allows full police review while preserving programming continuity
Context

Background

Northwestern University is a private R1 institution of about 23,000 students with its main campus in Evanston, Illinois. On the evening of Tuesday, February 22, 2022, student office assistants in the Multicultural Center at 1936 Sheridan Road discovered a message written on a whiteboard: 'I am insane, also I have a gun.' They immediately called the Northwestern University Police Department and closed the building. NUPD opened an investigation; the Multicultural Center, the Black House, and the Gender and Sexuality Resource Center — three Multicultural Student Affairs spaces serving Black, multicultural, LGBTQ+, and gender-related programming — were closed pending the conclusion of that investigation. The threat surfaced amid a period of national bomb threats and intimidation campaigns targeting Black and identity-based campus spaces, including a wave of bomb threats against more than two dozen HBCUs that same month. Northwestern leadership issued a same-night 'Denouncing Act of Intimidation' letter rather than push an AlertNU emergency notification — a deliberate distinction reflecting that the writer had already left the scene. After review of video and security footage, NUPD closed the case without identifying a suspect, and the MSA spaces reopened on Thursday, March 3, 2022.
Analysis

Key Findings

The threat was communicated through an institutional 'Leadership Notes' letter rather than an AlertNU push, reflecting that the writer had already left the scene
Northwestern explicitly named all three affected MSA spaces (Multicultural Center, Black House, Gender and Sexuality Resource Center), signaling that leadership recognized the targeting of multiple identity-based programs
The investigation was closed without identifying a suspect and Northwestern acknowledged this publicly — an unusual transparency choice for identity-targeted intimidation cases
The MSA spaces reopened after two days of closure, balancing investigative review with programming continuity
The incident occurred during the February 2022 wave of bomb threats and intimidation campaigns targeting Black and identity-based campus spaces nationally
Outcome
MSA spaces remained closed for two days. The investigation reviewed available video and security footage but did not identify a suspect; the case was closed for lack of actionable information. Northwestern increased patrols around MSA buildings during the closure.
Provenance

Sources

  1. Official
    Denouncing Act of Intimidation (Northwestern Leadership Notes)
    northwestern.edu
  2. Student Paper
    Northwestern denounces Tuesday gun threat in Multicultural Center (Daily Northwestern)
    dailynorthwestern.com
  3. News
    Northwestern University investigating threatening message left at Multicultural Center (Fox 32 Chicago)
    fox32chicago.com
  4. News
    Northwestern University Multicultural Student Affairs spaces in Evanston closed after school threat (ABC7 Chicago)
    abc7chicago.com
  5. Student Paper
    MSA spaces to reopen after closing due to threatening message (Daily Northwestern)
    dailynorthwestern.com
Tags
threat-of-violencehate-incidentidentity-targetednorthwesternillinoisevanstonprivate-r1multicultural-centerblack-housegender-and-sexuality-resource-centermsaleadership-notesno-suspectUnfounded
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion