A series of hoax calls about active shooters have disrupted college campuses across the United States as the academic year begins. The incidents, some featuring recorded gunshot sounds in the background, have led to campuswide emergency alerts and lockdowns at multiple universities.
“It’s looking as if this was another swatting or hoax call,” said University of Arkansas Police Department Assistant Chief Matt Mills after a false report on Monday led to class cancellations.
At least 11 colleges from Arkansas to Pennsylvania have received such false alarms. On Monday, authorities responded to active shooter reports at the University of Arkansas, Northern Arizona University, Iowa State, Kansas State, Colorado University, and the University of New Hampshire. Similar calls were made Tuesday at the University of Kentucky and Central Georgia Technical College. In Kentucky, officials determined it was a hoax before issuing an alert.
Swatting involves making false emergency calls with the intention of prompting a large police response. Callers sometimes use technology to disguise their phone numbers. The FBI announced Tuesday that it is collaborating with law enforcement agencies on these cases amid a broader rise in swatting incidents nationwide.
The FBI noted that previous waves of threats were believed to originate from outside the country but provided few details about recent campus threats or whether they are coordinated. Many calls involved multiple reports and gunshot sounds in the background.
The impact on students and staff has been significant. Ken Trump, president of National School Safety and Security Services, said emotional effects can last for days or weeks after such events.
Miceala Morano, a senior journalism major at the University of Arkansas, described her experience: “As of right now, I’m safe. I love you.” She recounted hiding behind equipment in her classroom during the lockdown.
“There’s just these few minutes where all you really feel is fear, whether the threat’s there or not,” Morano added.
Casey Mann, another student at Arkansas, said she struggled to sleep after the incident: “It’s just a scary reality the time we’re living in right now,” she said. “It just makes me wonder what we’re supposed to expect in the future when it comes to the frequency of events like this.”
The recent wave began Thursday with several false reports at Villanova University in Pennsylvania during orientation events. Students rushed for cover after hearing reports—accompanied by gunfire sounds—of an armed man on campus. The school later lifted its lockdown and condemned what its president called a “cruel hoax.”
“Today, as we are celebrating Orientation Mass to welcome our newest Villanovans and their families to our community, panic and terror ensued,” said Rev. Peter M. Donohue.
Tennessee authorities also received similar calls Thursday regarding an active shooter at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.
“This incident was a criminal act, intended to be disruptive and cause chaos,” university officials stated.
On Sunday, two calls reported an active shooter at the University of South Carolina library with gunshots heard in both instances.
Experts warn that repeated hoaxes could lead students and staff to become complacent about future warnings. Mya Norman, a chemistry instructor at Arkansas who hid under her desk during lockdowns, expressed concern: “It does make me worry that people will be inclined to think it’s a false alarm… So it does concern me that we could end up with that kind of an effect.”
Ken Trump emphasized finding balance: “It’s that delicate balance, not downplaying an active shooter because those things are occurring but also we don’t want people to go to work paranoid and panicked every day.”
