Campus Alert Archive
MDC

Emailed Bomb Threat Empties MDC North Campus 55 Minutes Before First All-Buildings Alert

FLbomb 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 afternoon of Wednesday, January 18, 2017, Miami Dade College administrators received an emailed bomb threat against the North Campus at 11380 NW 27th Avenue at 2:33 PM EST, prompting an immediate evacuation of Buildings 1, 2, 4, and the Preschool Lab. Fifty-five minutes later, at 3:28 PM EST, MDC sent a campus-wide emergency alert ordering evacuation of ALL BUILDINGS at North Campus. Miami-Dade Police swept the grounds and determined the threat was unfounded; evening classes were canceled and the campus reopened Thursday.

Alerts
2
Response
—
Killed
0
Injured
0
Institution
Miami Dade College
Community College · FL
~165,000 studentsEverbridgeMDC Alert
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

2 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
Verified verbatimThe Reporter (MDC student newspaper) — published the exact text of the emergency alert in its January 18, 2017 article186 chars
This is an emergency alert from Miami Dade College. Please evacuate ALL BUILDINGS at MDC North Campus immediately. If heading to the Campus, stay away until the all-clear has been given.
Sent at 3:28 PM EST on January 18, 2017 — exactly 55 minutes after the threat was received at 2:33 PM EST, a notable response-time lag for a publicly-announced bomb threat at a major urban campus
Phrase 'evacuate ALL BUILDINGS' (in all caps) is a deliberate broadening from the initial spot-evacuation of just Buildings 1, 2, 4, and the Preschool Lab
The instruction to people 'heading to the Campus' to stay away reflects MDC's commuter character: most of the affected population would have been off-site and en route at 3:28 PM
Distributed via the MDC Alert system (Everbridge), reaching SMS, email, and the MDC public website
ALL CLEARSMS
Approximate reconstruction182 chars
MDC ALERT: The all-clear has been given for MDC North Campus. The bomb threat was determined to be unfounded. Evening classes are canceled. Classes will resume Thursday as scheduled.

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

Reconstructed from [WSVN](https://wsvn.com/news/local/miami-dade-college-north-campus-evacuated-due-to-bomb-threat/) and [Local 10](https://www.local10.com/news/2017/01/18/miami-dade-college-to-resume-classes-thursday-after-bomb-threat/) coverage confirming the all-clear was given and that evening classes were canceled while Thursday operations would resume normally
Exact wording of the all-clear MDC Alert is not preserved in any reachable archive; only the substance of the message is documented
Context

Background

Miami Dade College is the second-largest higher-education institution in the United States, with eight campuses across South Florida and an enrollment of roughly 165,000 at the time of this incident. The North Campus, at 11380 NW 27th Avenue in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, is the system's original campus, founded in 1960, and serves a predominantly Black, Hispanic, and immigrant student body. The January 18, 2017 bomb threat arrived by email at 2:33 PM EST. MDC administrators evacuated Buildings 1, 2, 4, and the Preschool Lab immediately, but did not send the campus-wide MDC Alert until 3:28 PM EST — a 55-minute gap that is unusually long for a Clery-Act emergency notification at a major urban campus. The alert ordered evacuation of all buildings and explicitly told commuters heading to campus to stay away. Miami-Dade Police responded at approximately 3 PM, swept the grounds, and found no explosive device. The threat was declared unfounded, evening classes were canceled, and the campus reopened on Thursday, January 19. The incident was the second emailed bomb threat at an MDC campus in four months — the Kendall Campus library had been evacuated on September 27, 2016 after an anonymous phone call — and was followed less than six weeks later by a third bomb threat that evacuated the Hialeah Campus on February 28, 2017. The cluster reflects the broader 2016–2017 wave of emailed bomb threats targeting U.S. community colleges, Jewish community centers, and public institutions.
Analysis

Key Findings

The 55-minute gap between threat receipt (2:33 PM EST) and campus-wide MDC Alert (3:28 PM EST) is unusually long for a Clery-Act emergency notification and reflects the operational distinction MDC drew between local building evacuations (immediate) and a system-wide alert (delayed pending verification)
The verbatim alert text — 'evacuate ALL BUILDINGS at MDC North Campus immediately' — is notable for using all-caps emphasis within an otherwise standard MDC Alert template
The January 2017 threat was one of three emailed/phoned bomb threats at three different MDC campuses (Kendall in September 2016, North in January 2017, Hialeah in February 2017) — part of a national 2016–2017 cluster of emailed bomb threats against community colleges and public institutions
The explicit instruction to commuters 'heading to the Campus' to stay away is a community-college-specific alert design choice: MDC has no resident students, so commuter-redirection language matters more than dorm-shelter language
Outcome
Campus evacuated; Miami-Dade Police swept buildings and found no explosive device. Threat determined unfounded. Evening classes canceled; classes resumed Thursday, January 19, 2017. No injuries. This was the second MDC bomb threat in four months — the Kendall Campus library had been evacuated on September 27, 2016.
Provenance

Sources

  1. Student Paper
    Classes Canceled at North Campus After Bomb Threat Reported — The Reporter (MDC student newspaper)
    mdcthereporter.com
  2. News
    All clear given at Miami Dade College North Campus after bomb threat — WSVN 7News
    wsvn.com
  3. News
    Miami Dade College to resume classes Thursday after bomb threat — Local 10
    local10.com
  4. News
    Miami Dade College Hialeah campus evacuated due to bomb threat (subsequent incident, February 28, 2017)
    local10.com
Tags
community-collegebomb-threatmiami-dade-collegeevacuationfloridahispanic-serving-institutionemail-threateverbridgeunfounded2017-bomb-threat-waveUnfounded
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion