Campus Alert Archive
Smith

A 5:02 a.m. Bomb Threat at the Geology Building Pulled Smith College Students Out of Bed and Into Shelter-in-Place on a Friday Morning

MAbomb threatemergency notificationmedium confidence
Confirmed HoaxDetermined to be a hoax. The institutional response is documented because it reveals how the alert system performed under a perceived real threat.

At approximately 5:02 a.m. EST on January 28, 2022, the Northampton Police Department received an anonymous threat reporting multiple explosive devices in Burton Hall at Smith College. Smith issued an avoidance advisory just after 6:00 a.m. urging the community to stay away from Burton Hall and adjacent Sabin-Reed Hall, followed by a campuswide shelter-in-place order at approximately 6:30 a.m.. The Massachusetts State Police Bomb Squad searched the building and found nothing; the shelter-in-place was lifted at approximately 7:00 a.m. EST.

Alerts
3
Response
—
Killed
0
Injured
0
Institution
Smith College
Private Liberal Arts · MA
~2,500 studentsSmith Alert
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

3 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 ALERTSMS
Approximate reconstruction145 chars
Smith Alert: Bomb threat reported. Avoid Burton Hall and Sabin-Reed Hall until further notice. Police are responding. More information to follow.

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

The threat was received by Northampton police at 5:02 a.m. EST on January 28, 2022, and Smith College's avoidance alert went out just after 6:00 a.m. EST
The avoidance advisory specifically named Burton Hall AND Sabin-Reed Hall — the two adjoining science-cluster buildings — not Burton alone
Burton Hall houses Smith's geology and mathematics departments, making it a major academic building rather than a residence hall; Sabin-Reed Hall houses biological sciences
The early-morning timing meant most students were asleep when the alert went out — a constraint Smith's text-and-email system was designed to overcome
UPDATESMS
Approximate reconstruction179 chars
Smith Alert: Shelter in place. Remain inside. Lock doors. Stay away from windows. Police are on scene investigating a bomb threat. Do not leave your building until further notice.

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

The shelter-in-place was issued at approximately 6:30 a.m. EST — the escalation reflected Smith's classification of the threat from 'avoid the area' to 'continuing threat to all of campus'
Daily Hampshire Gazette and Daily Voice reported the shelter-in-place was campuswide, not limited to Burton Hall and adjacent buildings
ALL CLEARSMS
Approximate reconstructionReconstructed from New England Public Media and Gazette reporting that the shelter-in-place was lifted at approximately 7 a.m. and police said there was no ongoing threat222 chars
Smith Alert: All clear. The shelter-in-place has been lifted. Police searched campus and found no explosive devices. The threat was determined to be not credible. Normal operations will resume. Thank you for your patience.

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

The shelter-in-place was active for roughly 80 minutes — short by Clery emergency standards but disruptive on a women's college campus where most residence halls are dorms with shared bathrooms and kitchens
Northampton Police, Massachusetts State Police Fire Marshall, and the State Police Bomb Squad participated in the search before the all-clear
The incident was reported to the DHS Tripwire database, indicating it was officially logged as a federal-level threat report
Context

Background

Smith College is a private liberal arts women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts, founded in 1871, and one of the Seven Sisters colleges). On January 28, 2022, the Northampton Police Department received an anonymous bomb threat at 5:02 a.m. EST reporting multiple explosive devices in Burton Hall, which houses the geology and mathematics departments. Smith posted an alert just after 6:00 a.m. urging people to avoid both Burton Hall and the adjoining Sabin-Reed Hall, and approximately 30 minutes later escalated to a campuswide shelter-in-place. The Northampton Police, Massachusetts State Police Fire Marshall, and the State Police Bomb Squad searched the campus and found nothing. The threat was logged in the DHS Tripwire database and the shelter-in-place was lifted at approximately 7:00 a.m. EST. Police said there was no ongoing threat. The case is significant for the campus alert archive because it documents the response of a small women's liberal arts college to an anonymous bomb threat during the same general period as the HBCU bomb threat wave of early 2022, even though Smith was not a direct target of that wave. It also illustrates how a 5:02 a.m. threat — when most residence-hall students are asleep — stresses the SMS-and-email model that small colleges use for emergency notification.
Analysis

Key Findings

The threat came in at 5:02 a.m. EST; Smith posted its initial avoidance alert just after 6:00 a.m. and escalated to a campuswide shelter-in-place at approximately 6:30 a.m.
The avoidance alert named both Burton Hall (geology and mathematics) and the adjoining Sabin-Reed Hall (biology) — a two-building advisory before the campuswide escalation
The shelter-in-place was active for approximately 80 minutes before being lifted at 7:00 a.m. EST
The Massachusetts State Police Bomb Squad's involvement and the DHS Tripwire log indicate the threat was treated as a federal-level investigation, even though it was ultimately deemed not credible
The case documents Clery emergency-notification practice at a small women's liberal arts college during a period of heightened anonymous threat activity against US campuses
Outcome
No explosive devices were found. The Northampton Police Department, Massachusetts State Police Fire Marshall, and State Police Bomb Squad searched the campus. The shelter-in-place was lifted at approximately 7:00 a.m. EST and the threat was deemed not credible. The incident occurred during a wave of bomb threats targeting US colleges in early 2022, including the wave against HBCUs that had begun earlier in January.
Provenance

Sources

  1. News
    Bomb threat at Smith College after report of suspicious object - WWLP
    wwlp.com
  2. News
    Bomb Threat Leads To Shelter-In-Place Order At Smith College - Daily Voice
    dailyvoice.com
  3. News
    Smith College lifts lockdown after bomb threat - New England Public Media
    nepm.org
  4. News
    Police: Bomb threat a hoax at Smith College - Daily Hampshire Gazette
    gazettenet.com
  5. Official
    January 28, 2022 - Northampton, Massachusetts - Bomb Threat - DHS Tripwire
    tripwire.dhs.gov
  6. News
    "Multiple Explosive Devices" Threat At Smith College In Northampton - Live 95.9
    live959.com
Tags
bomb-threatwomens-collegeseven-sistersshelter-in-placehoaxmassachusettsearly-morning-alertburton-hallnorthamptonprivate-liberal-artsHoax
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion