7 Colleges Face Shooting Hoaxes as Fall Classes Start

"As fall semester classes get underway, colleges and universities have faced a cascade of so-called swatting calls-false reports of serious crimes intended to trigger a large police response and the deployment of SWAT teams. At least seven colleges have investigated false reports of an active shooter on campus since last Thursday. The calls, which one college leader characterized as a "cruel hoax," have led to injuries on some campuses and forced some to shelter in place, sending students, faculty and administrators reeling."

"At 12:27 p.m. Monday, University of Arkansas officials sent a campus alert telling students to avoid the Mullins Library "due to an active shooter reported." The library sits in the middle of campus, near the Arkansas student union. An hour later, officials sent a second alert that said campus police were "responding to multiple reports around campus." They issued an all clear at 3:58 p.m. The university later said that police didn't confirm any active threats on campus."

"Iowa State University officials said midday Monday that the active shooting reports they received were determined to be false. "We will continue to monitor the situation and take all threats seriously. The calls appear to be similar to several anonymous and false 'swatting calls' at universities across the country, triggering a response from law enforcement," Iowa State police said in a statement."

Fall semester start saw numerous false active-shooter reports targeting college campuses. The so-called swatting calls aimed to trigger large police responses and SWAT deployments. At least seven colleges investigated reports since last Thursday, prompting alerts, shelter-in-place orders, and some injuries. University of Arkansas issued multiple Mullins Library alerts and later reported no confirmed threat after an all-clear. Northern Arizona, University of Tennessee Knoxville, Iowa State, and Villanova similarly investigated reports and issued all-clears. Iowa State police characterized the calls as anonymous, false 'swatting calls' that triggered law-enforcement responses and heightened fear across campus communities.

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