HVCC

A Snapchat Post About Killing a Campus Cop Led to a Terroristic-Threat Arrest at HVCC

Thursday, February 28, 2019NYthreat of violencetimely warningmedium confidence

Confirmed Threat

Hudson Valley Community College Public Safety arrested 19-year-old Corey Hoyt of Castleton on February 28, 2019, accusing him of threatening to harm members of the campus community through gun violence in a Snapchat post. Investigators said Hoyt wrote about wanting to kill an HVCC officer, steal the officer's gun, and go to the library, saying he was stressed and that 'maybe killing would solve his problems.' He was charged with harassment and making a terroristic threat.

Alerts: 1
Response: —
Killed: —
Injured: —

Institution

Hudson Valley Community College

Community College · NY

HVCC Public Safety

Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

1 message in sequence

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 ALERTEmailFebruary 28, 2019, the day of the arrest

Approximate reconstruction191 chars

HVCC Public Safety is aware of a social media post threatening members of the campus community. An individual has been identified and taken into custody. There is no ongoing threat to campus.

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

Reconstructed notification; WRGB/CBS6 reported HVCC Public Safety took the individual into custody on February 28, 2019 after a Snapchat post threatening the campus community, but no archived verbatim alert text was located.

The threat referenced killing an HVCC officer and going to the library, which is why it was investigated as a campus-directed terroristic threat rather than a generic post.

Context

Background

Hudson Valley Community College is a SUNY two-year college in Troy. According to WRGB/CBS6 Albany, HVCC Public Safety arrested 19-year-old Corey Hoyt of Castleton on February 28, 2019, accusing him of threatening to harm the campus community through gun violence in a Snapchat post; investigators said he wrote about wanting to kill an HVCC officer, take the officer's gun, and go to the library, and that he was stressed and that 'maybe killing would solve his problems.' He was charged with harassment and making a terroristic threat. His family, through an attorney, described him as a young man with an intellectual disability pursuing a degree at the college. The 2019 arrest is one of several documented HVCC safety incidents in this period; the college's broader news and press-release archive and a later 2022 campus stabbing fed into a security review and the eventual decision to arm campus peace officers. The case shows how social-media threats specifically naming campus officers are now routinely treated as Clery-reportable terroristic threats.

Analysis

Key Findings

The threat was a social-media (Snapchat) post specifically naming an HVCC officer and the library, prompting a same-day arrest

Public Safety identified and detained the individual quickly, so the college framed the situation as resolved rather than an ongoing active threat

The 2019 incident was an early entry in a string of HVCC safety concerns that later contributed to the college arming its peace officers

Outcome

Hoyt was taken into custody by HVCC Public Safety and charged with harassment and making a terroristic threat. His family said through an attorney that he is a young man with an intellectual disability pursuing a degree at the college.

Provenance

Sources

News
Police: Man arrested, accused of making a terroristic threat of violence targeting HVCC - WRGB/CBS6 Albany
cbs6albany.com
Official
Press Releases - Hudson Valley Community College
hvcc.edu

Alert Sequence

Background

Key Findings

Sources

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