Campus Alert Archive
Lehigh

Five HawkWatch Alerts in 68 Minutes: Lehigh's May 7, 2023 Active-Shooter Hoax

PAswattingemergency notificationmedium confidence
Confirmed HoaxDetermined to be a hoax. The institutional response is documented because it reveals how the alert system performed under a perceived real threat.

On the evening of May 7, 2023, a hoax 911 call reported an active shooter at "the main building" at the intersection of East Packer Avenue and Webster Street on Lehigh's Asa Packer campus. The Lehigh University Police Department issued five HawkWatch alerts between 9:43 PM and 10:51 PM EDT, beginning with a Run-Hide-Fight directive and ending with an all-clear that confirmed the report was a hoax. The case became part of the May 2023 wave of college campus swatting incidents that also hit the University of Pittsburgh, Rider, Rutgers, and Saint Joseph's.

Alerts
5
Response
—
Killed
0
Injured
0
Institution
Lehigh University
Private R2 · PA
~7,800 studentsHawkWatch
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

5 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 reconstruction136 chars
HawkWatch Alert: Active shooter reported in the area of E. Packer Ave and Webster St. Run-Hide-Fight. Avoid the area. Updates to follow.

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

Sent at 9:43 PM EDT on May 7, 2023, minutes after Northampton County 911 non-emergency received a call reporting an active shooter at 'the main building' on East Packer Avenue between Taylor and Webster streets
The 'main building' reference was geographically ambiguous, since Lehigh's Asa Packer campus has multiple buildings near the East Packer-Webster area including the University Center and Maginnes Hall
Lehigh and Bethlehem police responded to the area within a minute of the alert being sent
UPDATESMS
Approximate reconstruction134 chars
HawkWatch Alert: Shelter in place. Lock doors. Police are on scene investigating. Continue to avoid the area of E. Packer and Webster.

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

The shift from Run-Hide-Fight to Shelter-in-Place came after responding officers indicated the threats may not be credible
The protocol shift is itself notable — Lehigh transitioned from active-shooter posture to suspicious-call posture within minutes
This pivot mirrors what other universities did during the spring 2023 wave once initial sweeps began
UPDATESMS
Approximate reconstruction132 chars
HawkWatch Alert: Continue to shelter in place. Police are conducting a thorough sweep of the area. No threat confirmed at this time.

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

The third alert maintained the shelter-in-place order while police conducted walking checks of the surrounding area
The phrasing 'no threat confirmed at this time' was carefully hedged — leaving open the possibility of a delayed confirmation rather than declaring a hoax outright
UPDATESMS
Approximate reconstruction124 chars
HawkWatch Alert: Police have completed sweeps and found no threat. Continue to remain indoors until the all-clear is issued.

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

The fourth alert announced 'no threat found' but explicitly did not yet rescind the shelter-in-place order
This is a Clery-correct sequencing — separating the operational 'no threat found' from the formal all-clear
ALL CLEARSMS+1h 8m
Verified verbatimWFMZ-TV 69News Lehigh Valley quoted the final HawkWatch alert verbatim from the Lehigh University police statement252 chars
Lehigh and Bethlehem police have completed their investigation and it is safe to return to normal activity. No credible threat was found or observed and it was a hoax threat only from outside the Lehigh community. All operations may continue as normal.
The all-clear was issued at approximately 10:51 PM EDT on May 7, 2023, exactly 68 minutes after the initial alert at 9:43 PM EDT
Lehigh's explicit characterization of the call as a 'hoax threat only from outside the Lehigh community' was relatively direct — many institutions used 'unfounded' or 'no threat found' to avoid an early conclusion
The phrase 'No credible threat was found or observed' is a precise Clery-style construction that addresses both physical sweep results and camera/observational evidence
Lehigh subsequently worked with the FBI and Pennsylvania State Police to identify the caller
Context

Background

On the evening of Sunday, May 7, 2023 — during Lehigh's reading-and-exams period at the close of the spring semester — Northampton County 911 received a non-emergency call reporting an active shooter at "the main building" near East Packer Avenue and Webster Street on Lehigh's Asa Packer campus in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. The Lehigh University Police Department issued the first HawkWatch alert at 9:43 PM EDT instructing the campus to Run-Hide-Fight. Five total alerts were sent over 68 minutes, shifting from Run-Hide-Fight to Shelter-in-Place to a final all-clear at 10:51 PM EDT that explicitly characterized the report as a hoax. LUPD coordinated with Bethlehem Police, Pennsylvania State Police, and the FBI to identify the caller. The incident fit the pattern of spring 2023 college swatting hoaxes that targeted Pennsylvania and New Jersey campuses including Rutgers, Rider, the University of Pittsburgh, and Saint Joseph's University — most calls came from outside the area and were placed to county non-emergency lines, suggesting an organized rather than spontaneous pattern.
Analysis

Key Findings

The hoax call was placed to Northampton County 911 non-emergency rather than the emergency line — a hallmark of organized swatting that the FBI flagged in its 2023 college-campus advisory
Lehigh sent five HawkWatch alerts in 68 minutes, shifting from Run-Hide-Fight to Shelter-in-Place to all-clear
The university explicitly used the word 'hoax' in its all-clear, a relatively direct word choice compared to peer institutions that used 'unfounded'
The incident occurred during the spring 2023 college-swatting wave that also hit Pitt, Rider, Rutgers, and Saint Joseph's
Lehigh subsequently engaged the FBI and Pennsylvania State Police, indicating early classification as part of the broader interstate swatting investigation
Outcome
No threat was found. LUPD, Bethlehem Police, Pennsylvania State Police, and the FBI investigated; the call was confirmed as a hoax. Lehigh joined a wave of spring 2023 swatting calls targeting Pennsylvania and New Jersey universities.
Provenance

Sources

  1. Student Paper
    BREAKING: LUPD investigates active shooter threat hoax (The Brown and White)
    thebrownandwhite.com
  2. Official
    Follow-up From False Active Shooter Incident (Lehigh University News)
    news.lehigh.edu
  3. Official
    A Message to Families Regarding False Active Shooter Incident (Lehigh University)
    news.lehigh.edu
  4. News
    FBI, state police investigating Lehigh University 'active shooter' hoax (LehighValleyNews.com)
    lehighvalleynews.com
  5. Student Paper
    Shooting hoaxes increase on college campuses (The Brown and White)
    thebrownandwhite.com
  6. Official
    HawkWatch Alert Log (Lehigh University Police)
    police.lehigh.edu
Tags
swattingactive-shooter-hoaxlehighpennsylvaniaprivate-r2spring-2023-swatting-wavehawkwatchrun-hide-fightfbi-investigationlehigh-valleyHoax
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion