Universities Across the Country Fall Victim to Swatting Attempts

Back-to-school season brings a hint of excitement in the air as thousands of students across the country gear up for another year of learning. For some schools, though, that feeling was quickly replaced with fear as false reports of active shooters sent law enforcement to the facilities. 

Swatting is when a person makes a false report to the police that causes them to scare, arrest or harm an unsuspecting victim. The action has gained momentum in recent years, with eight schools in Wisconsin being targeted on the same day in 2022. Oftentimes, people will report a severe crime – such as an active shooter – to the police, forcing them to act without verifying the report. Since 2015, swatting has been considered a federal crime and can be punishable up to life in prison.  

Just this week, universities in Colorado, Arkansas, Arizona, Iowa, Kansas, New Hampshire, Kentucky, West Virginia, and Georgia were made victims of swatting attempts. According to Colorado CW2, students at Villanova University were attending an orientation mass when law enforcement received multiple calls regarding an active shooter. Sounds of gunfire were reportedly heard in the background of the calls, though no such incident occurred.  

The University of Wisconsin-Madison also received a swatting attempt earlier this week. According to a press release, Dane County Communications Center received a call from the non-emergency line stating that there was a person with an automatic rifle and two shots were fired. Officials said that they determined it was a swatting attempt after only one call was made and security footage verified everything was safe on campus.  

There is no clear way to signify whether or not a threat is credible. Swatting attempts often have building occupants shelter-in-place until authorities give the all-clear. However, the investigation can take up to several hours. Students at Villanova sheltered-in-place throughout the campus for two hours before it was determined to be safe.  

The FBI urges to follow these methods to stay safe during a swatting attempt: 

• Review online presence for sensitive personal information that could enable malicious actors to conduct a swatting attack 
• Exercise care when posting content or sharing it with individuals online. Images and videos can easily be exploited or manipulated by malicious actors for criminal activity 
• Consider online resources and services that may aid in reducing or removing sensitive publicly available information 
• Use strong, unique passwords and multi-factor authentications on all devices and accounts 
• Discuss swatting with family members or colleagues and have a plan in place in the event of law enforcement contract at your facility 

Mackenna Moralez is the associate editor of the facilities market and the host of the Facilities in Focus podcast.

Next

---

Read next on FacilitiesNet