Campus Alert Archive
Lehigh

12:37 PM HawkWatch: A 'Racially Targeted' Email at Lehigh, on the Same Day HBCUs Locked Down

PAthreat of violencetimely warningmedium confidence

On September 11, 2025, members of the Lehigh University community received a disturbing email containing a racially targeted threat. LUPD Chief Jason Schiffer received a phone call about the email at 11:03 AM EDT, and the HawkWatch alert went out at 12:37 PM EDT. The FBI joined LUPD's investigation and determined the threat was a hoax — part of a coordinated wave of threats that hit multiple HBCUs and other institutions the same day.

Alerts
2
Response
—
Killed
0
Injured
0
Institution
Lehigh University
Private R1 · PA
~7,800 studentsHawkWatch
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

2 messages 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 ALERTSMS
Approximate reconstruction291 chars
HawkWatch Alert: Members of the campus community received a disturbing email earlier today including a racially targeted threat. LUPD is working with the FBI to determine the threat is not credible. Out of an abundance of caution, please remain aware of your surroundings. Updates to follow.

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

Sent 94 minutes after Lehigh Police Chief Jason Schiffer received the initial phone call at 11:03 AM EDT — a deliberately measured response because Lehigh leadership had to first confirm the email was real and assess credibility before issuing a campus-wide alert
The 'racially targeted threat' language was a direct quote from the HawkWatch alert as reported by The Brown and White — Lehigh did not avoid naming the racial component, a notable transparency choice
The alert was issued the same day multiple HBCUs received similar coordinated threats — Lehigh's threat was not isolated but part of what national reporting characterized as a coordinated wave
FOLLOW-UPEmail
Approximate reconstruction410 chars
HawkWatch Update: After investigation with the FBI, the racially targeted email threat received earlier today has been determined to be a hoax. Multiple campuses across the country were subject to similar coordinated threats. There is no credible threat to the Lehigh community. Counseling and support resources are available through UCPS, the Center for Gender Equity, and the Office of Multicultural Affairs.

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

The follow-up alert specifically referenced the coordinated nature of the threats against multiple campuses — a deliberate choice to contextualize the Lehigh incident within the broader 9/11/2025 HBCU-targeting wave
Lehigh's identification of multiple support resources (UCPS, Center for Gender Equity, Office of Multicultural Affairs) reflects post-incident outreach to communities most directly threatened
The use of 'hoax' rather than 'unfounded' or 'non-credible' was a transparency decision aligning with Lehigh's January 30, 2025 swatting all-clear language
Context

Background

On September 11, 2025, Lehigh University community members received an emailed threat that explicitly targeted racial-minority students. Lehigh Police Chief Jason Schiffer received a phone call about the email at 11:03 AM EDT. After confirming the email was real and assessing credibility, Lehigh's senior administration directed LUPD to issue a HawkWatch alert at 12:37 PM EDT. The FBI joined LUPD's investigation, and within hours the email was determined to be a hoax. The day was a difficult one nationally: multiple historically Black colleges and universities locked down on September 11, 2025 in what was characterized by the Security Management trade press as a coordinated terroristic-threat campaign. Lehigh's inclusion in the wave — as a predominantly white institution but one with a meaningful Black and minority student population — was significant; the FBI's nationwide investigation linked the day's threats but had not, as of early 2026, publicly identified suspects. The incident was Lehigh's third major HawkWatch alert of 2025, following the January 30 active-shooter swatting and the April 17 BB-gun projectile incident.
Analysis

Key Findings

The 94-minute gap between the 11:03 AM chief's phone call and the 12:37 PM HawkWatch alert reflects deliberate verification — Lehigh chose accuracy over speed because the threat was an email, not a 911 call, and could be cross-referenced
Lehigh's explicit acknowledgment of 'racially targeted' language in the alert text — rather than euphemistic 'concerning content' phrasing — was a transparency choice many peer institutions did not make on the same day
September 11, 2025 marked one of the most coordinated single-day campus-threat campaigns in US history, and Lehigh was among the few predominantly white private institutions targeted alongside HBCUs
Three major HawkWatch alerts in 2025 (January swatting, April projectiles, September racial threat) represent an unusual concentration for a single Patriot League / R1 private institution
Outcome
No threat was found; the email was confirmed as a hoax by LUPD working with the FBI. The incident occurred on the same day as a wave of similar threats against historically Black colleges and universities — [multiple HBCUs locked down](https://www.axios.com/2025/09/11/hbcu-lockdown-campus-terrorist-threats) on September 11, 2025 in what was characterized as a coordinated terroristic-threat campaign.
Provenance

Sources

  1. Student Paper
    Email with racially targeted threat proven to be a hoax (The Brown and White)
    thebrownandwhite.com
  2. national media
    Multiple HBCUs locked down after 'terroristic threats' disrupt campus (Axios)
    axios.com
  3. industry publication
    Hoax Threats Target HBCUs, Causing Disruption on Campuses Across United States (ASIS Security Management)
    asisonline.org
  4. industry publication
    HBCUs on High Alert Following a Series of Threats (Campus Safety Magazine)
    campussafetymagazine.com
  5. Official
    HawkWatch Alert Log (Lehigh University Police Department)
    police.lehigh.edu
Tags
racially-targeted-threatemail-threathoaxhbcu-solidarity-wavepatriot-leagueprivate-r1pennsylvaniabethlehemhawkwatchfbi-investigation
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion