Bomb Threat Sparks Panic at University of Virginia

A bomb scare forced the evacuation of two major University of Virginia libraries on Friday, sending students and staff scrambling as police rushed in to investigate. Hours later, officials said there was no bomb at all. The threat was a hoax. But the timing could not have been more explosive. It came less than a day after a deadly terror investigation rocked another Virginia campus.

University police responded after an emailed bomb threat targeted Shannon Library on Friday morning. The scare quickly spilled over to nearby Clemons Library, and both buildings were evacuated at about 11 a.m. Authorities locked down the area and began a full sweep.

“Both Shannon and Clemons libraries were evacuated around 11 a.m., and a thorough investigation was completed,” UVA spokesperson Bethanie Glover said. “No bomb was discovered during the investigation, and the threat was determined to be a hoax.” The libraries reopened at about 1:45 p.m. after police declared the scene safe.

Earlier in the day, Glover had warned the public to stay clear while officers worked the scene. “Both Shannon and Clemons libraries have been evacuated, and a thorough investigation is underway. Please avoid the area as the investigation continues,” she said. UVA’s Safety account also pushed out an emergency alert saying police were on scene and evacuating both library buildings. Outside those locations, the university said operations continued as normal.

The scare did not appear to be isolated. George Mason University in Fairfax also evacuated its Fenwick Library on Friday over what school officials called a “potential bomb threat.” “This threat has not been confirmed,” the university said, adding that the investigation was being carried out “out of an abundance of caution and in the interest of public safety.”

Bridgewater College also dealt with a bomb threat at its Forrer Learning Commons the same day before officials said no device was found there either. Local reports said investigators were looking at whether the incidents were part of a broader wave of hoax threats aimed at Virginia colleges.

That possibility only added to the tension already hanging over campuses across the state. On Thursday, a gunman opened fire at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, killing Lt. Col. Brandon Shah and wounding two others before ROTC students subdued him. Federal authorities said the case is being investigated as terrorism.

FBI Director Kash Patel said, “The FBI is now investigating the shooting as an act of terrorism. Our Joint Terrorism Task Force is fully engaged.” The suspect, Mohamed Bailor Jalloh, had previously been convicted in a case tied to support for ISIS, according to federal reporting.

For UVA students, the library threat was another jolt in an already nervous climate. Shannon Library is one of the university’s academic centerpieces in Charlottesville. It houses major social sciences and humanities collections and serves as a key research hub on Grounds. Friday’s evacuation turned that familiar setting into a crime-scene-style response zone for nearly three hours.

It also was not the first false alarm to rattle the area around Shannon Library. In November, UVA dealt with what police later described as a swatting hoax involving reports of an active attacker near the same library. Friday’s bomb threat revived those fears, even though investigators once again found no sign of an actual device.

For now, the all-clear has been given. Classes and campus activity resumed. But after back-to-back campus emergencies in Virginia, nerves are clearly frayed. What happened at UVA ended as a hoax. The panic it triggered was very real.