Campus Alert Archive
Northwestern Medicine

A False Hostage Call Sends SWAT Into a Streeterville Hospital

ILswattingemergency 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 night of April 24, 2022, a phone threat claiming a man with a gun was holding a nurse hostage in an elevator put Northwestern Memorial Hospital at 251 E. Huron St. in Chicago's Streeterville on a roughly two-hour lockdown with a heavy SWAT response. Police found no threat and sources called it a hoax; the caller claimed he was upset about being overcharged.

Alerts
2
Response
—
Killed
0
Injured
0
Institution
Northwestern Memorial Hospital
Private R1 · IL
Northwestern Medicine Emergency Notification
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 reconstruction145 chars
Northwestern Medicine Alert: Armed intruder alert at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. Run, hide, fight. Do not enter the hospital. Avoid the area.

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

Reconstructed from reporting that the hospital was placed on an 'armed intruder alert' after an 8:40 p.m. CDT phone threat; the exact notification text was not published, so this is honestly marked unconfirmed.
The hospital's own messaging used 'armed intruder' language, which is preserved in the reconstruction rather than a campus-style 'active shooter' phrasing.
ALL CLEARSMS
Approximate reconstruction170 chars
Northwestern Medicine Alert: The armed intruder alert at Northwestern Memorial Hospital has been cleared. No threat was found. The hospital has resumed normal operations.

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

Reconstructed all-clear matching reporting that operations resumed around 10:30 p.m. CDT after roughly two hours.
Genuine all-clear: it explicitly states no threat was found and operations resumed, consistent with police later calling the call a hoax.
Context

Background

On the night of April 24, 2022, Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago's Streeterville neighborhood was placed on a roughly two-hour lockdown after a phone threat. According to the Chicago Sun-Times and the Daily Northwestern, the call — placed around 8:40 p.m. — claimed a man with a gun was holding a nurse hostage in an elevator, prompting an 'armed intruder alert' and a large SWAT presence outside the building. CBS Chicago reported that police found no threat, that sources called it a hoax, and that the caller claimed he was upset about being overcharged. The hospital resumed normal operations around 10:30 p.m. The case shows how swatting — already a recurring problem on residential campuses — extends to academic medical centers, where a single phone call can halt operations at a major downtown hospital. Northwestern Medicine's notifications are not publicly archived, so the alert text here is an honest reconstruction.
Analysis

Key Findings

A single hoax phone call halted operations at a major downtown academic hospital for about two hours, demonstrating swatting's reach into clinical settings
The hospital used 'armed intruder alert' language rather than campus-style 'active shooter,' a distinction preserved in the reconstruction
Police found no threat and described the call as a hoax tied to a billing grievance
Northwestern Medicine notifications are not publicly archived, so the wording is an honest reconstruction
Outcome
No threat was found and no one was injured. Police sources described the call as a hoax, possibly a swatting incident. The hospital resumed normal operations around 10:30 p.m. CDT.
Provenance

Sources

  1. News
    Northwestern Memorial Hospital no longer on lockdown after SWAT respond to phone threat
    chicago.suntimes.com
  2. News
    Sources say purported hostage situation that put Northwestern Memorial Hospital on lockdown was a hoax
    cbsnews.com
  3. Student Paper
    Northwestern Memorial Hospital pauses operations for several hours after 'armed intruder alert'
    dailynorthwestern.com
  4. News
    Northwestern Memorial Hospital: Patient Describes Frightening Scene During 2-Hour Lockdown
    nbcchicago.com
Tags
swattinghoaxhospitalacademic-health-centerillinoislockdownstreetervilleemergency-notificationHoax
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion