{
  "id": "2024-09-14-wittenberg-university-springfield-haitian-threats",
  "slug": "wittenberg-university-springfield-haitian-threats-2024-09-14",
  "institution": {
    "name": "Wittenberg University",
    "shortName": "Wittenberg",
    "state": "OH",
    "type": "private-liberal-arts",
    "alertSystemName": "Wittenberg University Emergency Alert"
  },
  "incident": {
    "date": "2024-09-14",
    "type": "threat-of-violence",
    "cleryCategory": "emergency-notification",
    "resolution": "confirmed-hoax",
    "headline": "Threats targeting Haitian community members move all classes online for a week",
    "headlinePublic": "Threats targeting Haitian community members move all classes online for a week",
    "summary": "On September 14-15, 2024, Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio, received two threatening emails targeting Haitian members of its community: a [shooting threat on Saturday, September 14](https://bnonews.com/index.php/2024/09/ohios-wittenberg-university-on-alert-after-shooting-threat-against-haitians/) and a [bomb threat on Sunday, September 15 involving a red Honda Civic](https://www.springfieldnewssun.com/news/wittenberg-university-closes-all-sunday-events-activities-after-shooting-threat/6VVI2D5NNJGSRFYSVNNDO6V7TY/). The threats were part of a citywide wave of more than 33 hoax calls tied to false social media claims that Haitian immigrants were eating pets. The university canceled all events and [moved all instruction online for the full week of September 16-20](https://www.foxnews.com/us/wittenberg-university-ohio-cancels-events-increases-security-after-shooting-threat)."
  },
  "alerts": [
    {
      "sequence": 1,
      "type": "initial",
      "channel": "twitter-x",
      "verbatimText": "Wittenberg University is currently taking precautions following a possible threat to campus tomorrow, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. All events and activities tomorrow are canceled. See alert website at https://www.wittenberg.edu/alert for more information, safety tips, and resources.",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://x.com/wittenberg/status/1835124704639697081",
      "sourceDescription": "@wittenberg official threat cancellation product",
      "annotations": [
        "FLIP 2026-08-04: Official @wittenberg X product replaces incomplete news-quoted email fragment. Dual independent X fetch (keyword + thread_fetch) second blind match. SPN 523.",
        "Artifact outranks prior Fox/BNO prose-adjacent reconstruction. Longer email product remains unconfirmed if not fully recovered."
      ],
      "characterCount": 278,
      "confidence": "high",
      "timestamp": "2024-09-14T21:13:19-04:00",
      "textSha256": "a24eb98a6aa55ab96e55d82630f844de131e396884317b273b4409151a71db2f"
    },
    {
      "sequence": 2,
      "type": "update",
      "timestamp": "2024-09-15T13:32:00-04:00",
      "channel": "email",
      "verbatimText": "",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": false,
      "sourceDescription": "Reconstructed from Springfield News-Sun reporting on the 1:32 p.m. EDT email response to the Sunday bomb threat",
      "annotations": []
    },
    {
      "sequence": 3,
      "type": "update",
      "timestamp": "2024-09-15T17:25:00-04:00",
      "channel": "email",
      "verbatimText": "",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": false,
      "sourceDescription": "Reconstructed from FOX News and Springfield News-Sun reporting on the 5:25 p.m. EDT announcement sent to students and staff",
      "annotations": []
    }
  ],
  "context": "Wittenberg University, a Lutheran liberal arts college of approximately 1,700 students in Springfield, Ohio, became a focal point of the 2024 Springfield immigration crisis after [false social media claims, amplified by political figures, alleged that Haitian immigrants were eating pets](https://www.axios.com/2024/09/16/fbi-springfield-ohio-threats-haitian-wittenberg-university). Springfield had a sizeable Haitian community drawn by manufacturing jobs, and Wittenberg itself enrolled Haitian students. The threats against Wittenberg came amid a wave of at least 33 hoax bomb threats to Springfield institutions between September 12-15, 2024, including two elementary schools, City Hall, and driver's license bureaus. The [FBI and Springfield Police investigated both the shooting and bomb threats](https://spectrumnews1.com/oh/columbus/news/2024/09/15/trump-vance-springfield-ohio-wittenberg-university-haitians) as federal hate crimes. Ohio Governor Mike DeWine confirmed all were hoaxes. The campus closure and week-long shift to fully remote instruction was a significant disruption to campus operations. Wittenberg was not alone. Clark State Community College, also in Springfield, similarly received bomb threats and moved to remote instruction the same week. The [FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force tracked the threat wave](https://www.ntd.com/college-closes-campus-after-shooting-threat-targets-haitian-in-springfield_1017056.html) nationally.",
  "sources": [
    {
      "title": "@wittenberg official threat product",
      "url": "https://x.com/wittenberg/status/1835124704639697081",
      "type": "official-social",
      "accessDate": "2026-08-04",
      "archiveUrl": null,
      "archiveNotes": "SPN 523"
    },
    {
      "title": "Wittenberg University cancels events after shooting threat targets Haitian students (FOX News)",
      "url": "https://www.foxnews.com/us/wittenberg-university-ohio-cancels-events-increases-security-after-shooting-threat",
      "type": "national-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "Wittenberg University on alert after shooting threat against Haitians (BNO News)",
      "url": "https://bnonews.com/index.php/2024/09/ohios-wittenberg-university-on-alert-after-shooting-threat-against-haitians/",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "Wittenberg moves to online classes Monday after pair of threats (Springfield News-Sun)",
      "url": "https://www.springfieldnewssun.com/news/wittenberg-university-closes-all-sunday-events-activities-after-shooting-threat/6VVI2D5NNJGSRFYSVNNDO6V7TY/",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "FBI examines threats on Haitians at Springfield Ohio college (Axios)",
      "url": "https://www.axios.com/2024/09/16/fbi-springfield-ohio-threats-haitian-wittenberg-university",
      "type": "national-media"
    }
  ],
  "confidence": "high",
  "tags": [
    "bomb-threat",
    "shooting-threat",
    "hate-crime",
    "ohio",
    "private-liberal-arts",
    "anti-haitian",
    "immigration",
    "campus-closure",
    "remote-instruction",
    "political-context"
  ],
  "dateAdded": "2026-05-31",
  "lastUpdated": "2026-08-04",
  "addedBy": "ingestion"
}