Campus Alert Archive
UD

Gore, Mitchell, Sharp at 11:45 AM: UD's South College Avenue Triple Evacuation in the September 30 Multi-State Bomb Threat Wave

DEbomb threatemergency notificationmedium confidence
Confirmed HoaxDetermined to be a hoax. The institutional response is documented because it reveals how the alert system performed under a perceived real threat.

On the morning of September 30, 2025, the University of Delaware issued a UD Alert at approximately 11:45 AM EDT directing the evacuation of Gore Hall, Mitchell Hall, and Sharp Lab — three buildings on the South College Avenue side of The Green — after receiving a bomb threat. UD Police searched the buildings and gave the all-clear at approximately 2:00 PM EDT. The threat was unfounded. UD was one of several institutions hit that day — a wave that also targeted Delaware State University (Dover), Morgan State and Towson (MD), Monroe County Community College (MI), Prairie View A&M and Lone Star College-University Park (TX), and University of Alaska Fairbanks (AK).

Alerts
2
Response
—
Killed
0
Injured
0
Institution
University of Delaware
Public R1 · DE
~24,000 studentsUD Alert
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 reconstruction189 chars
UD Alert: Evacuate Gore Hall, Mitchell Hall, and Sharp Lab immediately. Police are responding to a reported bomb threat. Avoid the South College Avenue side of The Green. Updates to follow.

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

Sent at approximately 11:45 AM EDT on September 30, 2025
Gore Hall is UD's main classroom building, Mitchell Hall is the historic 1930s auditorium, and Sharp Lab houses physics — all three sit along South College Avenue facing The Green
UD Alert is the University of Delaware's emergency notification system administered through Rave Mobile Safety, reaching SMS, email, voice, and digital signage simultaneously
ALL CLEARSMS+2h 15m
Approximate reconstruction206 chars
UD Alert: All clear. UD Police have completed a search of Gore Hall, Mitchell Hall, and Sharp Lab. No devices were found. The buildings are reopening. The reported threat is being investigated as unfounded.

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

All-clear was issued at approximately 2:00 PM EDT — total response cycle of about 2 hours, 15 minutes
UD Police searched all three named buildings before the all-clear was issued
Multiple other institutions were hit the same morning — DSU (Dover), Morgan State (Baltimore), Towson, Monroe County Community College (MI), Prairie View A&M and Lone Star College-University Park (TX), and University of Alaska Fairbanks (AK) — suggesting a coordinated threat actor
Context

Background

The University of Delaware is a public R1 doctoral institution serving approximately 24,000 students in Newark, Delaware. UD operates a UD Alert emergency notification system administered through Rave Mobile Safety. On the morning of September 30, 2025, UD received a bomb threat targeting three buildings on the South College Avenue side of The Green — Gore Hall (UD's main classroom building), Mitchell Hall (the 1930s auditorium), and Sharp Lab (physics). UD issued a UD Alert at approximately 11:45 AM EDT ordering the immediate evacuation of all three buildings. UD Police conducted a comprehensive search and issued the all-clear at approximately 2:00 PM EDT — about 2 hours and 15 minutes later. The threat was unfounded. UD's evacuation was part of a coordinated multi-state bomb-threat wave that morning that also affected Delaware State University in Dover (an HBCU), Morgan State University (Baltimore HBCU), Towson University (MD), Monroe County Community College (MI), Prairie View A&M and Lone Star College-University Park (TX), and the University of Alaska Fairbanks. The simultaneity of these threats across multiple states and institution types (R1 publics, HBCUs, community colleges, and Alaska institutions) suggests a coordinated threat actor — likely an extension of the August 2025 Purgatory swatting wave or a separate but parallel hoax campaign. The case is significant because it documents a non-HBCU R1 evacuation that was just one node in a multi-state same-morning hoax wave.
Analysis

Key Findings

UD was one of at least eight US institutions hit by bomb threats on September 30, 2025 — a clearly coordinated multi-state hoax wave
Total response cycle from initial UD Alert to all-clear was approximately 2 hours, 15 minutes
All three named buildings (Gore Hall, Mitchell Hall, Sharp Lab) sit along South College Avenue facing The Green — UD's historic core
The September 30 wave hit a striking mix of R1 publics, HBCUs (DSU, Morgan State), community colleges, and Alaska institutions — a deliberately diverse targeting pattern
The Sept 30 wave came at the tail of the August 2025 swatting cycle, suggesting either Purgatory-affiliated or copycat actors
Outcome
UD Police searched Gore Hall, Mitchell Hall, and Sharp Lab and found no devices. The all-clear was issued at approximately 2:00 PM EDT, ending an approximately 2 hour 15 minute evacuation. No injuries occurred and classes resumed in unaffected buildings. UD was one of multiple institutions hit on September 30, 2025 in a coordinated multi-state bomb-threat wave.
Provenance

Sources

  1. News
    Bomb threat causes evacuation of University of Delaware buildings - Newark Post
    newarkpostonline.com
  2. News
    Bomb threats at multiple Delaware universities result in evacuations, cancellations - WHYY
    whyy.org
  3. News
    Delaware State University, University of Delaware campuses evacuated Tuesday - CBS Philadelphia
    cbsnews.com
  4. News
    University of Delaware, Delaware State University evacuate campus buildings due to threats - Yahoo News
    yahoo.com
  5. News
    DSU, UD conduct evacuations due to safety threats - WDEL
    wdel.com
  6. News
    Potential safety incident resolved at the University of Delaware in Newark - 6abc Philadelphia
    6abc.com
  7. Official
    Safety Information for the University of Delaware Community - UD Alert
    www1.udel.edu
Tags
bomb-threatdelawareudnewarkgore-hallmitchell-hallsharp-labmulti-state-waveseptember-30-2025coordinated-hoaxpurgatory-tailHoax
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion