Burge Residence Hall evacuated after suspicious package, incident now resolved

Students evacuated from the building waited outside before being allowed back inside around noon.

November 17, 2023

Students stand outside of Burge Residence Hall during an evacuation at Burge Residence Hall on the University of Iowa campus in Iowa City on Friday, Nov. 17, 2023. A Hawk Alert was issued at 11:29 a.m. to evacuate the building due to a suspicious package. Another Hawk Alert was issued at 12:06 p.m. stating the the issue was resolved.

University of Iowa students evacuated Burge Residence Hall Friday morning because of a report of a suspicious package and possible bomb threat. The situation has since been resolved.

A Hawk Alert was sent to the UI community at 11:30 a.m., writing that police were on scene, and to evacuate the building.

Reporters from The Daily Iowan went to Burge and found students waiting outside the dorm, instructed by resident assistants and other resident hall staff to remain away from the building.

While students were waiting outside, two police K9 units responding to the scene went inside the dorm to investigate.

According to a press release from the UI Police Department, UI Campus Safety received a written bomb threat around 10:37 a.m. that indicated there was a bomb in Burge.

The dorm was subsequently evacuated out of an abundance of caution as police and the Johnson County Metro Bomb Squad responded.

The investigation found no bombs or other dangerous materials, and the motivation for the threat is unknown. An investigation into the incident remains ongoing, and no other information is available at this time.

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Students huddled together to wait out the investigation, including Prashna Dahal, a first-year student who was waiting with her friends. Dahal said she didn’t know what was going on.

“All I saw was we got a hawk alert, and that’s, that’s about it,” Dahal said.

Mariyah Allen, a UI second-year said she was one of the last out of the building.

Allen said she initially thought there was a fire as the alarms in Burge went off. Allen said she’s been through bomb threats before in her high school and was surprised with how quickly the issue was resolved.

Students were able to reenter the building at 12:07 p.m.

About the Contributors

Alejandro Rojas, News Editor

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Alejandro Rojas is The Daily Iowan's news editor. He previously worked as a news reporter covering Johnson County and was the summer executive editor in 2023. He is a senior, double majoring in journalism and political science.

Roxy Ekberg, Politics Reporter

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Roxy Ekberg is a first year at the University of Iowa. In the Honors Program, she is double majoring in journalism and political science with a minor in Spanish. Prior to her role as a politics reporter, she worked news reporter at the Daily Iowan and worked at her local newspaper The Wakefield Republican.

Ayrton Breckenridge, Managing Visuals Editor

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Ayrton Breckenridge is the Managing Visuals Editor at The Daily Iowan. He is a senior at the University of Iowa majoring in journalism and cinema. This is his fourth year working for the DI.