Campus Alert Archive
BSC

A Tweet Locked Down a College — and the FBI Traced It to Campus

NDthreat of violenceemergency notificationmedium confidence
Confirmed Threat

On Thursday, January 14, 2016, Bismarck State College was locked down just before 11:30 a.m. after a threat posted to Twitter to shoot up the campus library was deemed credible. The FBI pinged the phone the threat came from and found it originated on the BSC campus, and a North Dakota Highway Patrol trooper stopped a 16-year-old suspect around 4 p.m. on U.S. Highway 83. The lockdown was significant enough that it forced then-Governor Doug Burgum's predecessor's planned campus visit to change.

Alerts
2
Response
—
Killed
—
Injured
—
Institution
Bismarck State College
Community College · ND
BSC Alerts
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

2 messages in sequence

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
BSC Alert: Campus is on lockdown due to a credible threat. Lock doors, stay inside, and remain where you are until further notice. Do not leave buildings. Law enforcement is responding.

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

The lockdown was ordered just before 11:30 a.m. CST on January 14, 2016, after a Twitter threat to shoot up the BSC library was judged credible.
The threat's origin was traced by the FBI to a phone on the BSC campus itself, an early example of social-media threat geolocation driving a campus response.
Exact alert wording was not published; this reconstruction reflects the lockdown instruction reported by multiple outlets.
ALL CLEARSMS
Approximate reconstruction182 chars
BSC Alert: The lockdown has been lifted. A suspect has been taken into custody and there is no further threat to campus. Normal operations may resume. Thank you for your cooperation.

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

A North Dakota Highway Patrol trooper stopped the 16-year-old suspect around 4 p.m. CST on U.S. Highway 83, after which the campus threat was resolved.
This is a true all-clear: it lifted the lockdown and stated the threat was over following the arrest.
The precise time the lockdown was lifted was not published; timestampApprox ties it to the afternoon apprehension.
Context

Background

Bismarck State College, a community/polytechnic college in Bismarck, North Dakota (Central Time), was locked down on Thursday, January 14, 2016, after a threat to shoot up the campus library appeared on Twitter. According to KSL, the FBI pinged the phone the threat originated from and traced it to the BSC campus; a North Dakota Highway Patrol trooper stopped the 16-year-old suspect around 4 p.m. on U.S. Highway 83. Patch reported the threat referenced a 'machine gun' and was treated as credible, prompting the lockdown just before 11:30 a.m. The FBI later indicated federal charges were unlikely given the suspect's age. The case is an early, well-documented example of a social-media threat driving a full campus lockdown and of digital forensics quickly localizing the source.
Analysis

Key Findings

A Twitter threat to shoot up the BSC library triggered a campus lockdown just before 11:30 a.m. CST on January 14, 2016
The FBI traced the threatening phone to the Bismarck State College campus itself
A North Dakota Highway Patrol trooper stopped the 16-year-old suspect around 4 p.m. CST on U.S. Highway 83
The FBI indicated federal charges were unlikely given the suspect's age
Outcome
A 16-year-old boy was taken into custody. The FBI indicated federal charges were unlikely against the juvenile. The library and campus were cleared after the lockdown.
Provenance

Sources

  1. News
    Teen in custody after threat made to North Dakota college - KSL.com
    ksl.com
  2. News
    Teen in custody after threat made to North Dakota college - Crookston Times
    crookstontimes.com
  3. News
    UPDATE: Bismarck State College On Lockdown; Credible Machine Gun Threat - Patch
    patch.com
  4. News
    Suspect in custody in connection to BSC lockdown - Bismarck Tribune
    bismarcktribune.com
Tags
threat-of-violenceemergency-notificationnorth-dakotacommunity-collegesocial-media-threatlockdownjuvenile-suspect
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion