Campus Alert Archive
QCC

Two Days, Two Threats: A Bomb Threat, Then a Shooter Threat, Empty the Worcester Campus

MAthreat of violenceemergency 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.

Quinsigamond Community College in Worcester, Massachusetts, evacuated and closed its main campus on back-to-back days in late March 2016. Boston.com reported the college was emptied on Wednesday, March 30, 2016, after a bomb threat, then told students to leave again on Thursday, March 31, 2016, over a 'shooter threat.' Boston 25 News reported both threats targeted the main campus.

Alerts
2
Response
—
Killed
—
Injured
—
Institution
Quinsigamond Community College
Community College · MA
~13,000 studentsQCC Alert
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

2 messages in sequence · 2 verified verbatim

INITIAL ALERTSMS
Verified verbatimWorcester Patch, quoting the QCC text message alert sent to students on March 30, 2016139 chars
Please leave the Boylston St main campus in an orderly fashion at this time. We have received a bomb threat and we are closing the college.
Quoted verbatim from the QCC text message alert sent to students on the afternoon of March 30, 2016, as reported by Worcester Patch.
This first alert framed the threat as a bomb threat, prompting an orderly evacuation rather than shelter-in-place.
The Wednesday closure was the first of two consecutive days of threats against the same campus.
FOLLOW-UPSMS
Verified verbatimWorcester Patch, quoting the QCC alert sent at approximately 10:15 a.m. on March 31, 2016106 chars
Due to a shooter threat on the main campus, WB Street, all day classes at all QCC locations are cancelled.
Quoted verbatim from the QCC alert sent at approximately 10:15 a.m. EDT on March 31, 2016, as reported by Worcester Patch and Boston 25 News.
This second-day alert came roughly a day after the bomb threat and characterized the incident as a shooter threat, extending the cancellation to all QCC satellite locations.
Boston.com and WHDH characterized the Thursday incident as a 'shooter threat,' distinct from Wednesday's bomb threat.
Context

Background

Quinsigamond Community College serves the Worcester, Massachusetts, area and uses the QCC Alert emergency-notification system. In late March 2016, the college faced two threats on consecutive days. Boston.com reported that the main campus was evacuated and closed on Wednesday, March 30, 2016, after a bomb threat, and that students were again told to leave on Thursday, March 31, 2016, this time over a 'shooter threat.' Boston 25 News and WHDH both reported the evacuations. Neither threat produced a device or an armed person, and the campus reopened after the searches. The back-to-back pattern illustrates how a community college can be forced to evacuate repeatedly when an unknown actor sends successive threats.
Analysis

Key Findings

Two different threat types — a bomb threat then a shooter threat — forced consecutive-day evacuations of the same campus
Both incidents ordered full evacuation rather than shelter-in-place, treating the campus itself as the target
Neither threat produced a device or an armed person; both resolved as unfounded, and both alert texts are quoted verbatim in Worcester Patch coverage
Outcome
Both threats prompted evacuations and closures of the main campus on consecutive days. No device or shooter was found in either incident.
Provenance

Sources

  1. News
    'Shooter threat' closes Quinsigamond Community College - Boston.com
    boston.com
  2. News
    Quinsigamond Community College closed due to shooter threat - Boston 25 News
    boston25news.com
  3. News
    Quinsigamond Community College evacuated for 'shooter threat' - WHDH
    whdh.com
  4. News
    UPDATE: Quinsigamond Community College Bomb Threat Closes School - Worcester Patch
    patch.com
  5. News
    Shooter Threat at Quinsigamond Community College Evacuates Locations - Worcester Patch
    patch.com
Tags
threat-of-violencebomb-threatevacuationemergency-notificationmassachusettscommunity-collegeunfoundedUnfounded
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion