{
  "id": "2024-10-16-rockhurst-university-pipe-bomb-threat",
  "slug": "rockhurst-university-pipe-bomb-threat-2024-10-16",
  "institution": {
    "name": "Rockhurst University",
    "shortName": "Rockhurst",
    "state": "MO",
    "type": "private-r2",
    "alertSystemName": "Rock Alert"
  },
  "incident": {
    "date": "2024-10-16",
    "type": "bomb-threat",
    "cleryCategory": "emergency-notification",
    "resolution": "confirmed-hoax",
    "headline": "Bomb threat, October 16, 2024",
    "summary": "On Wednesday, October 16, 2024, [Rockhurst University received a bomb threat at approximately 6:15 p.m. CDT](https://www.kctv5.com/2024/10/17/police-respond-bomb-threat-rockhurst-university/) when a male caller told KCPD 911 he had placed two pipe bombs on campus and demanded a cryptocurrency ransom. Rock Alerts ordered a full campus evacuation at 6:38 p.m. -- first to the baseball field, then to a nearby Catholic church as temperatures dropped. [KCPD and Rockhurst Police swept the campus](https://www.kshb.com/news/crime/police-investigate-bomb-threat-at-rockhurst-university-wednesday-evening) with bomb K-9 units and issued the all-clear at 12:25 a.m. on October 17, approximately six hours after the initial threat, determining no explosive devices were present."
  },
  "alerts": [
    {
      "sequence": 1,
      "type": "initial",
      "timestamp": "2024-10-16T18:38:00-05:00",
      "channel": "sms",
      "verbatimText": "",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": false,
      "sourceDescription": "Reconstructed from KCTV5 and The Sentinel (Rockhurst student newspaper) reporting; Rock Alert evacuation order sent at 6:38 p.m. CDT on October 16, 2024, directing students to the baseball field",
      "annotations": []
    },
    {
      "sequence": 2,
      "type": "update",
      "timestamp": "2024-10-16T19:58:00-05:00",
      "channel": "sms",
      "verbatimText": "",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": false,
      "sourceDescription": "Reconstructed from The Sentinel reporting that a second Rock Alert at 7:58 p.m. CDT directed students to Saint Francis Xavier Catholic Church on East 52nd Street as temperatures dropped",
      "annotations": []
    },
    {
      "sequence": 3,
      "type": "all-clear",
      "timestamp": "2024-10-17T00:25:00-05:00",
      "channel": "sms",
      "verbatimText": "",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": false,
      "sourceDescription": "Reconstructed from KCTV5 reporting that KCPD issued the all-clear at 12:25 a.m. CDT on October 17, 2024, and a Rock Alert was sent allowing students to return",
      "annotations": []
    },
    {
      "sequence": 4,
      "type": "update",
      "timestampApprox": "9:17 p.m. Wednesday, October 16, 2024",
      "channel": "email",
      "verbatimText": "Rockhurst Companions,\n\nAs you know from our emergency alert communications, our campus received a bomb threat at 6:15 p.m. Wednesday evening. Campus was notified via a Rock Alert text message to evacuate all buildings. Kansas City, Missouri police officers arrived on the scene and worked with Rockhurst Security officers to search the area for any potentially explosive or suspicious objects.\n\nTo safely conduct the search, access to campus and some surrounding streets has bene limited. KCPD Explosive detection K9 officers are conducting a search of campus buildings. The timeframe to complete this process is unknown and no one will be able to return to their campus housing or any other buildings until the KCPD is given the all clear.\n\nWe understand that this situation can be stressful for those who were here or heard the news. Please be assured that KCPD and Rockhurst Security are being very thorough and that we will let you know as soon as possible when it is safe to return to normal activities.\n\nPlease continue to monitor your email and Rock Alerts for updates.\n\nSandra Cassady, Rockhurst University President",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "confidence": "high",
      "sourceUrl": "https://www.kctv5.com/2024/10/17/police-respond-bomb-threat-rockhurst-university/",
      "sourceDescription": "KCTV5 embeds President Sandra Cassady campus email",
      "annotations": [
        "Dual HTML + second-blind. KCTV5 blockquote of the 9:17 p.m. presidential email. sha256 cb331643b72d238552c96cfad3f142bda6737bedbe8df80250dd05904cdf0870. Greeting through signature kept.",
        "Seq 1-3 stay unconfirmed."
      ],
      "characterCount": 1124
    }
  ],
  "context": "Rockhurst University, a private Jesuit institution of approximately 3,000 students in Kansas City, Missouri, faced a multi-hour campus evacuation on the evening of October 16, 2024. At 6:15 p.m. CDT, the university's Dispatch Communications Center was alerted by KCPD that a male caller had threatened to detonate two pipe bombs planted somewhere on campus unless a cryptocurrency ransom was delivered to a specified address -- an unusually specific and financial-demand-laden bomb threat. [Rock Alerts were issued beginning at 6:38 p.m. CDT](https://www.kctv5.com/2024/10/17/police-respond-bomb-threat-rockhurst-university/) ordering a full campus evacuation, first to the baseball field and then -- as temperatures dropped -- to nearby Saint Francis Xavier Catholic Church. KCPD's Bomb and Arson unit and K-9 officers [swept every building on campus](https://www.kshb.com/news/crime/police-investigate-bomb-threat-at-rockhurst-university-wednesday-evening) over the course of six hours. At 12:25 a.m. CDT on October 17, [KCPD issued the all-clear](https://fox4kc.com/news/police-investigating-bomb-threat-at-rockhurst-university/), and students were allowed to return to campus. No explosive devices were found and no injuries were reported. [The Rockhurst Sentinel student newspaper](https://rusentinel.com/3696/campus/rockhurst-receives-bomb-threat/) reported that the cryptocurrency ransom demand was a distinctive feature that set this threat apart from typical hoax calls -- investigators were working to trace the caller.",
  "sources": [
    {
      "title": "Searched and safe: Police, campus security deem bomb threat unfounded at Rockhurst University -- KCTV5",
      "url": "https://www.kctv5.com/2024/10/17/police-respond-bomb-threat-rockhurst-university/",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "Rockhurst Receives Bomb Threat -- The Sentinel (Rockhurst student newspaper)",
      "url": "https://rusentinel.com/3696/campus/rockhurst-receives-bomb-threat/",
      "type": "student-newspaper"
    },
    {
      "title": "Police clear Rockhurst University amid investigation into bomb threat -- KSHB",
      "url": "https://www.kshb.com/news/crime/police-investigate-bomb-threat-at-rockhurst-university-wednesday-evening",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "Police investigating bomb threat at Rockhurst University -- FOX4KC",
      "url": "https://fox4kc.com/news/police-investigating-bomb-threat-at-rockhurst-university/",
      "type": "local-media"
    }
  ],
  "confidence": "medium",
  "tags": [
    "bomb-threat",
    "missouri",
    "private-r2",
    "jesuit",
    "confirmed-hoax",
    "cryptocurrency-ransom",
    "pipe-bomb",
    "no-injuries",
    "kansas-city",
    "multi-hour-evacuation"
  ],
  "dateAdded": "2026-05-31",
  "lastUpdated": "2026-09-14",
  "addedBy": "ingestion"
}