UNO

Mid-Commencement, a Former Student Called In a Threat to Burn Down Buildings, and UNO Evacuated the Whole Campus by 11 AM

Friday, December 12, 2025LAthreat of violenceemergency notificationmedium confidence

Confirmed Threat

On Friday, December 12, 2025, the University of New Orleans ordered a mandatory campus evacuation after a former student called the university around 10:45 a.m. CST and allegedly threatened to burn down buildings on campus. UNO Emergency sent the evacuation alert via email just before 11 a.m., even as the school's winter commencement was getting underway at Lakefront Arena. Joseph Russo, 41, was arrested that afternoon and booked with terrorizing and unlawful disruption of a school; the campus reopened by about 1 p.m.

Alerts: 2
Response: —
Killed: 0
Injured: 0

Institution

University of New Orleans

Public R2 · LA

~7,700 studentsUNO Emergency

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 ALERTEmailJust before 11:00 a.m. CST on December 12, 2025

Verified verbatimNewsweek and WWNO, which quoted the UNO emergency alert verbatim208 chars

The UNO Police Department has been made aware of a potential threat to the University of New Orleans. A mandatory evacuation of all campuses is ordered. This is an actual emergency and not a test or a drill!!

Verbatim: Newsweek and WWNO both quoted the emergency alert word-for-word, attributed to the UNO Police Department evacuation message ('the alert said'). Note the double exclamation point in 'a test or a drill!!' as published.

The alert went out by email just before 11 a.m. CST while winter commencement was underway at Lakefront Arena, after a 10:45 a.m. CST call from a former student threatening to burn down buildings.

ALL CLEAREmailAround 1:00 p.m. CST on December 12, 2025, after the suspect was arrested

Approximate reconstruction195 chars

UNO Emergency: The threat has been cleared and the evacuation order is lifted. The campus has reopened and normal operations are resuming. A suspect is in custody. Thank you for your cooperation.

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

Reconstructed all-clear; reporting stated that 'as of 1 p.m., the threat had been cleared and the campus reopened' and that the evacuation and lockdowns were lifted.

This is a genuine all-clear that reopens campus and notes a suspect in custody, distinct from the earlier evacuation directive.

Context

Background

The University of New Orleans is a public R2 university on the Lakefront. On December 12, 2025, the timing was striking: the threat arrived as winter commencement began at Lakefront Arena, forcing a full-campus evacuation mid-ceremony. NOPD identified the caller as former student Joseph Russo, 41, who was arrested in Treme and booked with terrorizing and unlawful disruption of a school. The Louisiana Illuminator confirmed the campus reopened the same afternoon. The case is distinct from UNO's earlier 2022 campus threat already in this archive and shows how a single phone call can halt a graduation and clear a campus.

Analysis

Key Findings

A former student's ~10:45 a.m. CST call threatening arson prompted UNO to evacuate all campuses by just before 11 a.m. on December 12, 2025

The evacuation interrupted winter commencement underway at Lakefront Arena

NOPD arrested Joseph Russo, 41, who was booked with terrorizing and unlawful disruption of a school; campus reopened around 1 p.m. CST

The exact evacuation-alert wording was recovered verbatim from Newsweek and WWNO; the all-clear remains reconstructed

Outcome

UNO evacuated all campuses out of caution. NOPD arrested Joseph Russo, 41, a former student, in the Treme neighborhood without incident; he was booked with terrorizing and unlawful disruption of the operation of a school. The threat was cleared and the campus reopened around 1 p.m. CST. No fire was set and no one was injured.

Provenance

Alert Sequence

Background

Key Findings

Sources

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