Nearly two dozen colleges have reported fake active shooter calls in recent weeks, with 10 such incidents reported last Thursday.
The FBI said in an email that it is working with “multiple agencies” to share information about an uptick in hoaxes but it has no evidence of a “specific and credible threat” to target universities systematically.
“These threats put innocent people at risk and cause significant fear in the community,” the FBI said. “We urge the public to remain vigilant and report any and all suspicious activity and/or individuals to law enforcement immediately.”
Law enforcement officials call such hoaxes “swatting” threats, referring to the intention of hoaxers to make SWAT teams respond.
Between April 4 and 9, authorities responded to swatting calls at Clemson University, the University of Florida, Boston University, Harvard University, Cornell University, the University of Pittsburgh, Rutgers University, Oklahoma University, Wake Forest University and Middlebury College.
Last Thursday, the Catholic University of America and Trinity University, another Catholic school in the nation’s capital, were placed on lockdown for about an hour due to an active shooter report.
What’s more, eight Texas schools sheltered in place or were evacuated last Thursday in response to shooting hoax calls: Texas A&M University in College Station, Del Mar College in Corpus Christi, Texas Wesleyan in Fort Worth, Collin College in Plano, Galen College of Nursing in San Antonio, Tyler Junior College in Tyler, Baylor University in Waco and Lamar Institute of Technology in Beaumont.
The college hoaxes come amid growing numbers of K-12 schools reporting shooting hoaxes nationwide. They also follow fake bomb threats reported at several historically Black colleges and universities last year.
Campus officials note that swatting calls often come with red flags, including a lack of other callers confirming the alarms. But police say they can’t afford to wait before responding, no matter how far-fetched they sound.
On April 3, a swatting hoaxer at Harvard phoned three times starting at 3:23 A.M., claiming he was holding a woman hostage in a dorm room and would shoot any police who walked through the door. Officers responding to the scene found students sleeping in the room and no hostage crisis.
In an April 9 call reporting the fake shooting in Boston, the caller incorrectly identified the school as “the University of Boston.”
And last week’s D.C. hoaxer could not say whether a shooter had been spotted in a computer lab at Trinity or Catholic University, even though the Metropolitan Police Department had checked both campuses thoroughly.
“We work very closely with our local and college law enforcement partners to plan for numerous types of situations,” said MPD spokesperson Makhetha Watson. “We take every call seriously and if we learn that a malicious call was made, MPD conducts a full investigation into the matter.”
Most swatting hoaxers are “couch criminals” who get a thrill out of causing chaos and watching people respond, said Jonathan Thompson, a spokesman for the National Sheriff’s Association.
But while few hoaxers have gotten caught, he said agencies have stepped up their collaboration to track them down in light of recent mass shootings.
“These are not victimless crimes, but efforts to undermine law enforcement, our schools and the safety of communities,” Mr. Thompson said, noting that the calls sap public safety resources and traumatize students.
• Sean Salai can be reached at ssalai@washingtontimes.com.