Campus Alert Archive
APU

An Emailed Bomb Threat Emptied Seven APU Campuses on a February Night

CAbomb 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.

On the evening of February 17, 2021, Azusa Pacific University received an emailed bomb threat around 4 p.m. claiming explosives were placed on campus. The university announced an evacuation publicly around 5:40 p.m. PST and told on-campus residential students to shelter in place, later extending the evacuation to its regional campuses including Monrovia, Orange County, Koreatown, Inland Empire, High Desert, Murrieta and San Diego. Officers searched every building and found nothing suspicious; the threat was cleared around 10:40 p.m. PST.

Alerts
3
Response
—
Killed
—
Injured
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Institution
Azusa Pacific University
Private Masters · CA
~6,272 studentsAPU Emergency Notification
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 ALERTSMS
Approximate reconstruction185 chars
APU Alert: Due to a threat received, the Azusa campus is being evacuated. Residential students, shelter in place and lock your doors. Everyone else, leave campus now and avoid the area.

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

Reconstructed text: coverage reported APU announced the evacuation publicly around 5:40 p.m. and told dorm residents to shelter in place, but did not quote the exact notification, so this is paraphrased and marked unconfirmed.
The dual instruction — evacuate most of campus but have residential students shelter in place — reflects a common bomb-threat protocol tension when dorms have nowhere safe to send students.
UPDATESMS
Approximate reconstruction150 chars
APU Alert: The evacuation now extends to APU regional campuses. Leave the affected sites and await further instructions while authorities investigate.

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

Reconstructed update reflecting the documented extension of the evacuation to APU's Monrovia, Orange County, Koreatown, Inland Empire, High Desert, Murrieta and San Diego sites.
This is an update rather than an all-clear because it widens the response rather than lifting it.
ALL CLEARSMS
Verified verbatimCBS Los Angeles and KTLA both directly quote this as the APU Campus Safety all-clear statement issued approximately 10:40 p.m. PST on February 17, 2021187 chars
Law enforcement officials have cleared both Azusa campuses, residential living areas, and other APU buildings. There is no longer a threat to the community. Business may resume as normal.
Verbatim text confirmed: CBS Los Angeles and KTLA both quote this exact statement from APU Campus Safety, issued after law enforcement swept all buildings on the Azusa main campus and found no explosives.
The all-clear applied specifically to 'both Azusa campuses' and residential areas -- the regional campuses had also been evacuated but this message focused on the Azusa footprint.
This qualifies as an all-clear because it explicitly lifts the threat, confirms campus safety, and instructs that business may resume.
Context

Background

Azusa Pacific University, a private evangelical Christian university east of Los Angeles, operates a main campus in Azusa plus a network of regional centers. On February 17, 2021, the university received an emailed bomb threat around 4 p.m. claiming several explosives had been placed on campus. APU announced an evacuation around 5:40 p.m., directing residential students to shelter in place while clearing the rest of the campus, and then extended the evacuation to its regional sites as reported by ABC7. The student-run Clarion documented the timeline, and CBS Los Angeles confirmed that searches turned up nothing and the campuses were cleared by roughly 10:40 p.m. The maker of the threat was never identified.
Analysis

Key Findings

A single emailed threat around 4 p.m. cascaded into an evacuation of APU's main campus and seven regional sites
Residential students were told to shelter in place while the rest of campus evacuated — a recurring bomb-threat protocol tension
Building-by-building searches found no explosives and the all-clear came around 10:40 p.m. PST; no suspect was identified
Outcome
Police searched each building at the Azusa campus and the regional sites and found no explosives. The maker of the threat was not identified. Law enforcement declared no further threat around 10:40 p.m. PST.
Provenance

Sources

  1. News
    Azusa Pacific University evacuated over bomb threat; students in dorms told to shelter in place - KTLA
    ktla.com
  2. News
    Azusa Pacific University evacuation order lifted after bomb threat - ABC7 Los Angeles
    abc7.com
  3. News
    Azusa Pacific University Campuses Cleared After Bomb Threat - CBS Los Angeles
    cbsnews.com
  4. Student Paper
    Breaking News: Bomb Threat at APU Evacuates Area - The Clarion
    ccclarion.com
Tags
bomb-threatevacuationshelter-in-placechristian-universitycaliforniamulti-campusUnfounded
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion