Bomb Threat

The communication, by any means, of a false or genuine threat that an explosive device has been or will be placed at a specific location, made with intent to alarm the public or to disrupt normal activity, such as forcing the evacuation of a school, airport, government building or other facility, regardless of whether an actual explosive device exists. A bomb threat is prosecuted as a criminal offense in most jurisdictions independent of whether the threat is ultimately proven false, because the disruption, evacuation cost, and public alarm the threat itself causes are treated as the harm the offense addresses, and documented motives for making a bomb threat include an attempt to avoid a scheduled examination or work obligation, a targeted act of harassment or intimidation, and, in a smaller number of documented cases, genuine terrorism.