Bomb Threat Emailed to the Venue

Venue security forwards an email received 20 minutes ago: a credible-sounding bomb threat naming your event by name. Police have been notified. They're asking what you want to do.

Setting: Political conference, 1,000 attendees, government building, day 2 morning. Category: Security. Pressure level: Critical.

This page is the individual, citable address for this one situation: https://gatheringarchitecture.com/crisis-sim/scenario/bomb-threat

The situation

Police lieutenant on site says: 'It's likely a hoax — we get these monthly — but it names your event specifically. We're running the threat assessment with you: our recommendation is evacuate now and sweep with K-9. You know the building and the crowd — where do you stand?'

First moves and what each one costs

• Back the police recommendation: evacuate now, let them sweep, and record that the decision was made jointly — Smooth evacuation. Sweep takes 90 minutes. Nothing found. Attendees return; you've lost a half day but no one is harmed — and the decision is documented as a joint one.
• Overrule the recommendation and continue the program quietly while police sweep with K-9 in occupied rooms — Attendees notice the dogs and start asking questions. Rumors spread. Trust frays — and you now own a life-safety call you took against police advice.
• Treat 'likely hoax' as an all-clear and continue without disrupting anything — Story leaks the next day that you knew. Press headlines write themselves.

Preparation notes for this situation

• Never make the evacuation decision alone — it is a joint call with law enforcement and the venue, on their threat assessment
• Do not search for a device yourself, and do not use radios or mobile phones near a suspicious item
• Have a pre-written holding statement for security incidents
• Brief venue security and your ops team on the threat assessment process

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