Digital Forensics Dispatch

FBI Collecting Electronic Evidence in String of Bomb Threats Against Historically Black Institutions

February 24, 2022

Maria Carrasco of Inside Higher ED recently wrote about a string of bomb threats being made against historically black institutions. On Wednesday February 23, 2022, Hampton University, a historically black institution in Virginia, received a bomb threat which shut down the university for several hours.

After an investigation of the campus, the university reopened after the police found that the threat was unsubstantiated and issued an all clear. The identity of the individual who sent in the threat is still unknown, and this is the first time this has happened at Hampton University this year. The threat is, however, the latest in a string of bomb threats that have been directed at HBCUs.

The FBI is currently investigating these threats against HBCUs and other historically black institutions such as places of worship and faith-based organizations. The FBI’s statement on the incidents can be found here, where they state that “from January 4 to February 16, a total of 57 institutions across the country were targeted.”

Investigators are currently collecting and reviewing electronic evidence, including emails, call records and instant messages as part of their investigation into the threats. So far during their investigation into the threats against the institutions, no explosive devices have been found, and investigators are continuing to interview people.

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