{
  "id": "2020-09-19-princeton-university-bomb-threat",
  "slug": "princeton-university-bomb-threat-2020-09-19",
  "institution": {
    "name": "Princeton University",
    "shortName": "Princeton",
    "state": "NJ",
    "type": "private-r1",
    "alertSystemName": "TigerAlert",
    "enrollment": 8623
  },
  "incident": {
    "date": "2020-09-19",
    "type": "bomb-threat",
    "cleryCategory": "emergency-notification",
    "headline": "Bomb threat against four landmark buildings; all cleared within about two hours",
    "headlinePublic": "Bomb threat against four landmark buildings; all cleared within about two hours",
    "summary": "A caller claimed to have placed improvised explosive devices in four of Princeton's most prominent buildings: [Firestone Library, Nassau Hall, the University Chapel, and the Art Museum](https://www.princeton.edu/news/2020/09/19/bomb-threat-evacuate-art-museum-firestone-library-nassau-hall-and-chapel). The Department of Public Safety issued a [TigerAlert at 11:11 a.m. EDT on September 19, 2020](https://www.dailyprincetonian.com/article/2020/09/princeton-bomb-threat-on-campus) ordering evacuations, and all buildings were cleared within approximately two hours.",
    "outcome": "No explosive devices were found. A 15-year-old from Saskatoon, Canada, was later arrested in Louisiana in March 2021 and pleaded guilty to the swatting call.",
    "resolution": "confirmed-hoax"
  },
  "alerts": [
    {
      "sequence": 1,
      "type": "initial",
      "timestamp": "2020-09-19T11:11:00-04:00",
      "channel": "sms",
      "verbatimText": "",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": false,
      "sourceUrl": "https://www.dailyprincetonian.com/article/2020/09/princeton-bomb-threat-on-campus",
      "sourceDescription": "The Daily Princetonian: TigerAlert quoted verbatim",
      "annotations": [],
      "lastUpdated": "2026-08-02"
    },
    {
      "sequence": 2,
      "type": "all-clear",
      "timestamp": "2020-09-19T13:05:00-04:00",
      "timestampApprox": "1:05 PM EDT on September 19, 2020",
      "channel": "sms",
      "verbatimText": "Public Safety has confirmed there is no threat and has issued an ALL CLEAR related to the bomb threat. Normal activities can resume.",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://planetprinceton.com/2020/09/19/princeton-university-buildings-given-the-all-clear-after-bomb-threats/",
      "sourceDescription": "Planet Princeton quoting the verbatim TigerAlert all-clear text sent at 1:05 PM EDT on September 19, 2020, corroborated by The Daily Princetonian",
      "annotations": [
        "Sent at 1:05 PM EDT on September 19, 2020, after sweeps of all four buildings by law enforcement confirmed no explosive devices",
        "The phrasing 'Public Safety has confirmed there is no threat and has issued an ALL CLEAR' is the institutional attribution form -- crediting DPS rather than asserting the all-clear from the alert system itself",
        "Princeton's campus was operating at reduced capacity during the fall 2020 semester due to COVID-19 restrictions, meaning fewer people were physically present in the targeted buildings"
      ],
      "characterCount": 132
    }
  ],
  "context": "On the morning of September 19, 2020, Princeton University's [Department of Public Safety received a bomb threat](https://www.princeton.edu/news/2020/09/19/bomb-threat-evacuate-art-museum-firestone-library-nassau-hall-and-chapel) claiming that improvised explosive devices had been placed in four buildings on the main campus. The threat targeted some of the university's most historically significant structures, including [Nassau Hall](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nassau_Hall), which dates to 1756 and briefly served as the capitol of the United States. The campus was operating under COVID-19 restrictions at the time, with reduced in-person activity. A multi-agency investigation eventually led to the [arrest of a 15-year-old from Saskatoon, Canada](https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatoon/saskatoon-teen-swatting-1.5985441), who was apprehended at his grandparents' home in South Vacherie, Louisiana, in March 2021. The investigation involved the Regional Enforcement Allied Computer Team in California, the U.S. Secret Service, the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force, and Edmonton city police. The teen [pleaded guilty](https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatoon/teen-pleads-guilty-swatting-princeton-1.6049178) and was found to be connected to multiple swatting incidents across the country.",
  "keyFindings": [
    "The TigerAlert evacuation order went out at 11:11 a.m. EDT and the all-clear followed at 1:05 p.m. EDT, after law-enforcement sweeps of all four buildings, a roughly two-hour disruption",
    "The four targeted buildings represent Princeton's administrative, academic, spiritual, and cultural centers, maximizing disruption",
    "The arrest of a 15-year-old Canadian teen six months later demonstrated the cross-border complexity of swatting investigations",
    "COVID-19 restrictions meant the campus was less populated than usual, reducing the number of people directly affected by the evacuation"
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "title": "UPDATE: All clear following bomb threat - Princeton University",
      "url": "https://www.princeton.edu/news/2020/09/19/bomb-threat-evacuate-art-museum-firestone-library-nassau-hall-and-chapel",
      "type": "official-archive"
    },
    {
      "title": "U. issues 'All Clear' following bomb threat - The Daily Princetonian",
      "url": "https://www.dailyprincetonian.com/article/2020/09/princeton-bomb-threat-on-campus",
      "type": "student-newspaper"
    },
    {
      "title": "Saskatoon teen charged with swatting bomb threat at Princeton University - CBC News",
      "url": "https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatoon/saskatoon-teen-swatting-1.5985441",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "Teen Charged In Bomb Threat At Princeton University - Patch",
      "url": "https://patch.com/new-jersey/princeton/teen-charged-bomb-threat-princeton-university-report-s",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "Planet Princeton quoting the verbatim TigerAlert all-clear text sent at 1:05 PM EDT on September 19, 2020, corroborated ",
      "url": "https://planetprinceton.com/2020/09/19/princeton-university-buildings-given-the-all-clear-after-bomb-threats/",
      "type": "other"
    }
  ],
  "confidence": "high",
  "tags": [
    "bomb-threat",
    "swatting",
    "evacuation",
    "ivy-league",
    "covid-era",
    "teen-suspect",
    "new-jersey",
    "nassau-hall"
  ],
  "dateAdded": "2026-05-02",
  "lastUpdated": "2026-08-02",
  "addedBy": "ingestion"
}