Campus Alert Archive
RIC

Online Threat Forces Evacuation of Shared RIC/URI Nursing Education Center on Eddy Street

RIthreat 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.

On October 1, 2024, an online threat targeted the Rhode Island Nursing Education Center (RINEC) at 350 Eddy Street in Providence — a facility shared by Rhode Island College's Zvart Onanian School of Nursing and the University of Rhode Island's College of Nursing. The building was evacuated and Providence Police determined there was no credible threat. The incident took on added significance after the December 2025 mass shooting at Brown University across town prompted RIC to hire its first emergency management director.

Alerts
2
Response
—
Killed
—
Injured
—
Institution
Rhode Island College
Public Masters · RI
~6,000 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 ALERTmulti-channel
Approximate reconstruction223 chars
RIC ALERT: A threat has been made to the Rhode Island Nursing Education Center on Eddy Street. Providence Police are responding and investigating. The building is being evacuated. Please avoid the area until further notice.

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

The threat was submitted online and targeted the Rhode Island Nursing Education Center (RINEC) at 350 Eddy Street in Providence — a shared facility used by Rhode Island College's Zvart Onanian School of Nursing, the University of Rhode Island's College of Nursing, and located near Brown University's Warren Alpert Medical School
Providence Police responded alongside campus security to investigate
RINEC is located off-campus on Eddy Street, not on RIC's main Mt. Pleasant campus, which is approximately 2 miles from Brown University — Brown would experience a mass shooting 14 months later
ALL CLEARmulti-channel
Approximate reconstruction189 chars
RIC ALERT UPDATE: Providence Police have determined there is no credible threat to the Rhode Island Nursing Education Center. Normal operations have resumed. Thank you for your cooperation.

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

The all-clear was issued after Providence Police completed their investigation and found no credible threat
Following the December 2025 Brown University shooting, RIC named its first emergency management director, a role that had been planned before the shooting but took on new urgency
Context

Background

On October 1, 2024, an online threat targeted the Rhode Island Nursing Education Center (RINEC) at 350 Eddy Street in Providence. The Center is a shared facility used by Rhode Island College's Zvart Onanian School of Nursing and the University of Rhode Island's College of Nursing, located in the Jewelry District near Brown University's Warren Alpert Medical School. The building is not on RIC's main Mt. Pleasant campus. Providence Police responded and quickly determined there was no credible threat. The incident was relatively minor at the time, but took on heightened significance after the December 2025 mass shooting at nearby Brown University, which killed two and injured nine. In the aftermath of the Brown shooting, the Boston Globe reported that RIC named its first emergency management director, a role that had been in planning before the tragedy but took on new urgency. Other Providence-area institutions, including Providence College, also enhanced security measures in response to the shooting across town.
Analysis

Key Findings

The online threat targeted the Rhode Island Nursing Education Center (RINEC) — a shared facility used by RIC's Zvart Onanian School of Nursing and URI's College of Nursing — illustrating how shared academic facilities introduce multi-institution alerting complexity
The incident preceded the December 2025 Brown University mass shooting by 14 months, and prompted RIC to eventually hire its first emergency management director
RINEC's location off RIC's main campus, on Eddy Street near Brown University's Warren Alpert Medical School, meant the Brown shooting had direct operational implications for RIC's campus safety posture
Outcome
The Rhode Island Nursing Education Center was evacuated as a precaution. Providence Police investigated and determined there was no credible threat. Normal operations resumed at the building. The incident later prompted RIC to reassess campus safety measures ahead of the Brown shooting.
Provenance

Sources

  1. News
    Providence police say no credible threat at Rhode Island College nursing school (NBC 10 WJAR)
    turnto10.com
  2. News
    Rhode Island Nursing Education Center evacuated out of 'abundance of caution' (ABC6)
    abc6.com
  3. News
    After Brown shooting, Rhode Island College takes closer look at campus safety (Boston Globe)
    bostonglobe.com
  4. News
    How other local schools are responding to Brown shooting (WPRI)
    wpri.com
Tags
threat-of-violenceonline-threatnursing-schoolrhode-islandpublic-universityno-credible-threatcampus-safety-reformUnfounded
Added April 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion