At least 11 college campuses from Arkansas to Pennsylvania received hoax reports of active shooters, some including simulated gunshot sounds. Universities issued campuswide alerts instructing people to run, hide or fight, prompting students and faculty to seek cover and law enforcement to mobilize. Classes were canceled at some institutions after false reports. The incidents resemble swatting, sometimes involving caller ID spoofing to prompt an armed response. Federal authorities are working with local law enforcement on the cases amid a broader nationwide surge of false active-shooter reports, following a similar wave three years earlier.
A rash of hoax calls about active shooters on college campuses some featuring gunshots sounding in the background has sent waves of fear among students around the nation as the school year begins. The calls have prompted universities to issue campuswide texts to run, hide, fight. Students and teachers have rushed to find cover, often cowering in classrooms for safety. Officers have swarmed campuses seeking out the threat. Yet in every recent case, the threat didn't exist.
The hoax calls and false alarms have hit at least 11 college campuses from Arkansas to Pennsylvania. On Monday alone, law enforcement responded to calls claiming there were active shooters at Arkansas, Northern Arizona University, Iowa State, Kansas State, University of Colorado and the University of New Hampshire. More calls were made Tuesday at the University of Kentucky as well as Central Georgia Technical College and a nearby high school. The Kentucky call was determined to be a hoax before an alert could be issued.
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