Campus Alert Archive
Casper College

An 8 PM Active Shooter Alert That Wasn't: Casper College's Second Training-Triggered False Alarm in Five Years

WYotheremergency notificationmedium confidence
UnfoundedNo evidence of an actual threat was found. The institutional response is documented because the alert communication is identical to what would occur during a real incident.

On the evening of September 26, 2024, Casper College — a Wyoming community college of about 4,000 students — accidentally pushed an active shooter alert through its CC Alert system during what the school described as an 'informal and impromptu training' just before 8 PM MDT. The erroneous alert was live for approximately four minutes before the college sent a correction. It was the second training-triggered false alarm in five years — Casper College had inadvertently sent a similar alert during a training session in December 2019.

Alerts
2
Response
—
Killed
0
Injured
0
Institution
Casper College
Community College · WY
~4,000 studentsCC Alert
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

2 messages in sequence · 1 verified verbatim

Some alert texts below are approximate reconstructions from news coverage, not confirmed verbatim transcripts. Reconstructed texts are shown in italic with a dashed border. Verified verbatim texts have a solid border and are marked accordingly.

INITIAL ALERTSMS
Approximate reconstruction107 chars
CC ALERT: Active shooter on campus. Run, hide, fight. Lock doors and shelter in place. This is not a drill.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

The alert was pushed live for approximately four minutes before being followed by a correction
The college described the trigger as an 'informal and impromptu training' rather than a scheduled drill — meaning no advance notice was given to subscribers that they should ignore alerts during this window
Casper College sends CC Alerts via Rave Mobile Safety to SMS, voice, and email simultaneously
CORRECTIONSMS
Verified verbatimWyoming News Now and Casper Star-Tribune, quoting the Casper College CC Alert correction message ('was sent in error and occurred during a training session for the CC Alert system')148 chars
CC Alert: The previous message was sent in error and occurred during a training session for the CC Alert system. We are sorry for the inconvenience.
Verbatim correction quoted by Wyoming News Now and the Casper Star-Tribune; the alert went out just before 8:00 PM MDT and the correction followed approximately four minutes later — fast by industry standards but long enough for students to barricade in residence halls
Casper College's response language closely mirrored its December 2019 correction, suggesting the institution had a templated apology workflow but had not addressed the root-cause issue of training accidents
The college followed up with a formal apology statement the next morning
Context

Background

Casper College is a public community college in Casper, Wyoming serving approximately 4,000 students — one of the largest community colleges in the state. The college operates a CC Alert emergency notification system administered through Rave Mobile Safety. On the evening of September 26, 2024, just before 8:00 PM MDT, Casper College accidentally pushed an active shooter alert through CC Alert during an 'informal and impromptu training' exercise. The alert was live for approximately four minutes before a correction was sent. The institution issued a public apology the next day and committed to a comprehensive debriefing. The case is significant because Casper College had previously sent a nearly identical false active-shooter alert during a December 2019 training session, making this the second training-triggered false alarm in five years. The repeat incident raised concerns from students about whether future legitimate alerts would be taken seriously — a classic 'cry wolf' problem documented in campus emergency management literature. Wyoming has experienced significant swatting and false-threat activity in 2023-2024 affecting more than a dozen schools statewide, providing context for the heightened anxiety the four-minute alert produced.
Analysis

Key Findings

The false alert was Casper College's second training-triggered active-shooter mistake in five years (December 2019 was the first)
The alert was live for approximately four minutes before correction — fast but long enough for residence-hall barricades to form
The triggering event was described as 'informal and impromptu training' rather than a scheduled drill, meaning no advance notification was sent to subscribers
Repeated false alarms create classic 'cry wolf' risk where future legitimate alerts may be discounted
The incident occurred amid a wider 2023-2024 wave of Wyoming swatting and threat hoaxes affecting K-12 schools, heightening community sensitivity to active-shooter alerts
Outcome
Casper College issued a correction approximately four minutes after the initial alert and a formal apology the next day. The college committed to a 'comprehensive debriefing' to identify system failures. No physical injuries were reported, though student social media posts described significant anxiety and tears in residence halls during the four-minute window.
Provenance

Sources

  1. News
    Training exercise leads to active shooter false alarm at Casper College - Wyoming News Now
    wyomingnewsnow.tv
  2. News
    Casper College says active shooter emergency alert was false alarm - Casper Star-Tribune
    trib.com
  3. News
    False Alarm: No Shooter at Casper College - K2 Radio
    k2radio.com
  4. News
    Casper College: Report of active shooter was false alarm (Dec 2019) - Oil City News
    oilcity.news
  5. Official
    CC Alert - Casper College
    caspercollege.edu
Tags
false-alarmtraining-exercisecommunity-collegewyomingcasper-collegecry-wolfrave-alertsrepeat-incidentalert-system-failureUnfounded
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion