Campus Alert Archive
WWCC

WWCC Closes Rock Springs Campus After 'Archangel Michael' Claims 600 Pipe Bombs Hidden Across Wyoming

WYbomb threatemergency notificationmedium confidence

Western Wyoming Community College in Rock Springs closed its campus and canceled all Thursday classes on June 1, 2018, after the Wyoming Office of Homeland Security received an email threat claiming hundreds of pipe bombs were hidden in government buildings and schools statewide. The threat, signed 'Archangel Michael,' was submitted through the state of Wyoming's website and warned the state 'will be turned to dust.' Law enforcement determined the threat was not credible; WWCC and other affected campuses reopened Friday.

Alerts
2
Response
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Killed
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Injured
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Institution
Western Wyoming Community College
Community College · WY
~3,200 students
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 ALERTUnknown
Approximate reconstruction405 chars
Western Wyoming Community College Alert: Due to a bomb threat received by state authorities targeting Wyoming schools and government buildings, Western Wyoming Community College is closing its campus and canceling all classes and events for today, Thursday, June 1. Please leave campus immediately. Resident students should remain in their residence halls. Updates will follow as information is available.

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

SweetwaterNOW reported that Western Wyoming College in Rock Springs closed its campus and canceled all Thursday classes on June 1, 2018, in direct response to the statewide bomb threat.
Western Wyoming Community College was one of two community colleges in Wyoming that chose to close entirely, alongside Eastern Wyoming College in Torrington; the remaining four Wyoming community colleges and the University of Wyoming remained open that day.
ALL CLEARUnknown
Approximate reconstruction312 chars
Western Wyoming Community College: The bomb threat affecting Wyoming schools and government buildings has been determined to be non-credible by law enforcement. No explosive devices were found. Western Wyoming Community College will resume normal operations tomorrow, Friday, June 2. Thank you for your patience.

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

The Powell Tribune confirmed that Northwest College in Powell -- which also closed that day -- reopened Friday morning; WWCC followed the same timeline, with classes resuming June 2, 2018.
Law enforcement stated the threat, which claimed 600 pipe bombs were hidden in Wyoming's 'multiple big cities and official government buildings,' did not appear credible, consistent with similar statewide hoax threats Wyoming had experienced in prior years.
Context

Background

Western Wyoming Community College is a two-year institution in Rock Springs serving Sweetwater County in southwest Wyoming, with an enrollment of approximately 3,200 students. On June 1, 2018, the Wyoming Office of Homeland Security received an email submitted through the state's website from someone identifying themselves as 'Archangel Michael,' claiming to have planted 50 pipe bombs in Cheyenne government buildings, 600 pipe bombs in Wyoming cities and government buildings, 50 explosive sets at the Cheyenne Regional Airport, 500 pounds of explosives in 40 Wyoming schools -- with 10 schools allegedly having their fire sprinklers filled with napalm -- and a 'MOAB thermobaric bomb' in one of Wyoming's three most densely populated areas. The threat ended: 'TODAY WYOMING WILL BE TURNED TO DUST!' Wyoming's Sweetwater County schools were also shut down in response. Of the seven Wyoming community colleges, only Western Wyoming and Eastern Wyoming College in Torrington closed entirely; the other five remained open. Northwest College in Powell evacuated but kept resident students in place. Law enforcement determined the threat was not credible; other states received similar emails the same day. This was Wyoming's second major statewide email bomb threat targeting higher education in two years, following a similar coordinated threat in September 2016.
Analysis

Key Findings

WWCC closed its Rock Springs campus entirely on June 1, 2018 -- one of only two Wyoming community colleges to do so -- in response to a statewide email bomb threat claiming 600 pipe bombs hidden across the state
The threat, signed 'Archangel Michael,' was submitted through the state of Wyoming website and threatened campus fire sprinkler systems allegedly filled with napalm; law enforcement found no credibility
The incident was Wyoming's second statewide coordinated higher-education bomb threat in two years, reflecting a pattern of copycat email threats targeting multiple institutions simultaneously
Provenance

Sources

  1. News
    Details of Bomb Threat Emerge
    sweetwaternow.com
  2. News
    Emailed bomb threat closes NWC, some facilities in state
    powelltribune.com
  3. News
    Bomb threat: Email message threatening Wyoming buildings and schools disrupted NWC
    powelltribune.com
Tags
bomb-threatwyomingcommunity-collegestatewide-threathoaxconfirmed-hoaxrock-springssweetwater-county
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion