Campus Alert Archive
Spelman

Black History Month Opens With Bomb Threat at the Nation's Top HBCU for Women

GAbomb threatemergency 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.

Spelman College received its second bomb threat in two weeks on the first day of Black History Month, part of a coordinated wave that targeted dozens of HBCUs -- nearly 20 on January 31 and February 1, 2022 alone. Students were ordered to shelter in place at approximately 3 a.m. while Atlanta Police and GBI swept the campus with bomb detection dogs. No devices were found. Classes were suspended and the campus closed for the day.

Alerts
3
Response
—
Killed
—
Injured
—
Institution
Spelman College
Hbcu · GA
~2,300 studentsSpelman ALERT
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

3 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
Approximate reconstruction234 chars
A bomb threat has been reported on campus. All students are asked to shelter in place in their residence halls. Faculty and staff on campus should shelter in place in their current location. Do not come to campus until further notice.

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

Reconstructed from multiple news reports — exact wording may differ from original notification
Sent at approximately 3 a.m. but some students (like junior Sophia Parker) reported learning about the threat hours later via email
Shelter-in-place rather than evacuation mirrors the Howard University response pattern from the same morning
Second bomb threat at Spelman in two weeks — first was mid-January 2022
ALL CLEAREmail
Approximate reconstruction226 chars
The campus has been swept and cleared by Atlanta Police Department and GBI with the assistance of bomb detection dogs. No devices were detected. The campus will remain closed for the remainder of the day. Classes are canceled.

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

Reconstructed from news reports — confirms standard all-clear language pattern
Campus remained closed despite all-clear — reflects the psychological toll of repeated threats
Some students reported going to class at noon despite the closure, suggesting communication gaps
FOLLOW-UPTwitter/X
Verified verbatimSpelman College official X (Twitter) account, status 1491121427101192197266 chars
This morning, @SpelmanSafety and @Atlanta_Police responded to a potential bomb threat at Spelman. The campus was on lockdown for four hours while officials completed a thorough sweep of the campus. Classes are canceled for today and the campus is closed to visitors.
Verbatim text from Spelman College's official @SpelmanCollege X account, posted the morning of February 1, 2022
The four-hour lockdown duration is documented directly in the post — confirms the lockdown spanned from approximately 3 AM to 7 AM EST
The use of the @SpelmanSafety handle is notable — Spelman runs separate accounts for its public safety department and main institutional account, showing institutional differentiation in threat communications
Context

Background

Spelman College, the nation's top-ranked HBCU for women, was targeted repeatedly during the 2022 HBCU bomb threat wave -- the largest coordinated campaign against historically Black institutions in modern history. Across 2022 there were hundreds of bomb threats against HBCU facilities (federal officials later cited roughly 725 such threats), with nearly 20 HBCUs targeted on January 31 and February 1 alone, in what the FBI investigated as racially motivated hate crimes. Spelman received at least three threats during this period. The timing on the first day of Black History Month was clearly symbolic. As a member of the Atlanta University Center (AUC) consortium alongside Morehouse College and Clark Atlanta University, threats against any AUC institution triggered shelter-in-place responses across the entire complex. The Atlanta Police Department and Georgia Bureau of Investigation conducted bomb sweeps with K-9 units. No actual explosive devices were found at any campus nationwide.
Analysis

Key Findings

Spelman received at least three bomb threats in January-February 2022, suggesting smaller institutions with fewer security resources face disproportionate psychological impact from repeated threats
Some students reported learning about the 3 a.m. threat hours later via email, highlighting the challenge of reaching students during overnight incidents
The AUC consortium structure means a threat at one institution effectively locks down four adjacent campuses
Despite the all-clear, campus remained closed for the day — a pattern that distinguishes bomb threats from other emergencies where normal operations resume
Outcome
All-clear issued after campus sweep. No explosive devices found. Campus closed for the day. FBI later identified six juveniles as persons of interest in the broader HBCU bomb threat wave.
Provenance

Sources

  1. News
    Bomb threats spread to Spelman College, Fort Valley in Georgia — WRDW
    wrdw.com
  2. News
    Spelman College closes campus after bomb threat — FOX 5 Atlanta
    fox5atlanta.com
  3. News
    Spelman College receives another bomb threat; Classes canceled — 11Alive
    11alive.com
  4. News
    FBI identifies 6 juveniles as persons of interest in bomb threats at Black colleges — NBC News
    nbcnews.com
Tags
bomb-threathbcuhbcu-bomb-wave-2022racially-motivatedblack-history-monthcoordinated-threatatlanta-university-centerwomens-collegeUnfounded
Added April 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion