The Auburn University Regional Airport received a bomb threat on June 11, 2025, at 1:32 p.m. After determining the threat was not credible, the Auburn Police Department administratively closed the case, and the Auburn University Department of Campus Safety and Security chose to not issue an AU Alert.
The suspect and motivations behind the threat have not been identified to the public, but a police incident report indicated that “hate bias” was not involved. The same report recorded the victim type as “government.”
In a statement, Auburn University Executive Director of Public Affairs Jennifer Adams said:
“The Auburn University Department of Campus Safety and Security can confirm that on June 11, the Auburn Police Department received a report of a possible threat involving the Auburn University Regional Airport. An AU Alert was not issued because law enforcement promptly determined that the threat was not credible and posed no imminent danger to the campus or surrounding community. The APD and Campus Safety were in immediate communication with personnel at the Auburn University Airport to ensure that they and the students were notified of the situation. The airport was secured by the APD while the area was swept.”
AU Alert is the university’s emergency notification system, which delivers “time-sensitive emergency messages” by email, text and call.
Notifications are automatically delivered toe all students' and faculties' Auburn University e-mail addresses and university-provided cell phones. University affiliates and parents are also encouraged to register with additional emails and phone numbers, or download the Auburn Safety app to receive push notifications of AU Alert messages.
When asked what constitutes the need for an AU Alert, Woods continued in her statement:
“AU Alerts are issued in situations where there is a confirmed, immediate threat to the health or safety of students, faculty or staff. The decision to issue an alert follows established protocols guided by the Jeanne Clery Act, which defines the circumstances under which institutions must notify the campus community. In this case, law enforcement quickly assessed that there was no active or ongoing threat, and therefore an AU Alert was not warranted.”
The Clery Act is a federal statute which requires all colleges that receive federal funding to report information about criminal activity on campus. Under this act, institutions of higher education must issue either timely warnings or emergency notifications to members of the campus community, when appropriate.
Emergency notifications must be released “when there is confirmation of an immediate threat to the health and safety of the campus community” for on-campus emergencies only. An AU Alert was not issued before, during or after the bomb threat at the university's airport, but it was reported in the Auburn University Crime Log.
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Jennifer Santiago, junior majoring in political science and minoring in history, has been with The Auburn Plainsman since Fall 2024. Santiago previously served as a news writer, and she is currently serving as the Lifestyle Editor.
