Campus Alert Archive
TAMU

Mass Casualties at the Health Science Center: One Caller Hits Texas A&M, Baylor, Collin, and Five Other Texas Schools in a Single Morning

TXswattingemergency 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 April 13, 2023, a hoax caller targeting Texas A&M University's Health Science Center reported mass casualties from an active shooter in a laboratory at approximately 10:30 AM CDT. Police from across Brazos County responded, including TAMU PD, Bryan PD, College Station PD, the Sheriff's Office, DPS, and FBI partners. Investigators determined the same caller targeted Baylor, Collin College, Texas Wesleyan, Del Mar, Galen Nursing School, Tyler Junior College, and Lamar Tech in a coordinated morning of Texas hoaxes.

Alerts
2
Response
—
Killed
0
Injured
0
Institution
Texas A&M University
Public R1 · TX
~74,000 studentsCode Maroon
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 reconstruction168 chars
Code Maroon: Reported active shooter at the Health Science Center, Bryan campus. Avoid the area. Shelter in place. More information will follow as it becomes available.

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

The Code Maroon alert was issued shortly after the 10:30 AM CDT call to TAMU PD; KBTX reporting indicates police received the call around 10:40 AM
The incident targeted the Health Science Center on the Bryan campus, not the main College Station campus
Texas A&M's Code Maroon system has been used since the 2007 Virginia Tech shooting prompted national emergency notification reform
ALL CLEARTwitter/X
Verified verbatimTexas A&M University Police official X/Twitter post (verbatim)193 chars
The report of an active shooter at the Health Science Center is FALSE. There is no threat to campus. The same caller reported an active shooter at other universities today which was also false.
Posted verbatim by @TAMUPolice on X/Twitter on April 13, 2023, approximately 90 minutes after the initial alert
TAMU PD explicitly used the word 'FALSE' in all caps in the all-clear — a direct, unambiguous choice not all universities make
The all-clear connects this incident to the coordinated multi-school swatting wave by noting the 'same caller' targeted other universities
Context

Background

On the morning of April 13, 2023, a hoax caller reported mass casualties from an active shooter in a laboratory at Texas A&M University's Health Science Center on the Bryan campus. The call came in around 10:30 AM CDT. TAMU Police, Bryan PD, College Station PD, the Brazos County Sheriff's Office, the Brazos County Constables, the Texas Department of Public Safety, and the Bryan and College Station Fire Departments responded en masse. The Code Maroon alert system — Texas A&M's emergency notification platform created in response to the 2007 Virginia Tech shooting — issued a campus-wide alert. Within approximately 90 minutes, officers had cleared the Health Science Center and confirmed the call was a hoax. Investigators quickly connected the TAMU call to a coordinated morning of swatting calls hitting Baylor University, Collin College's Plano Campus, Texas Wesleyan in Fort Worth, Del Mar College in Corpus Christi, Galen College of Nursing in San Antonio, Tyler Junior College, Lamar Institute of Technology in Beaumont, and Woodsboro ISD. Authorities believed the same caller was responsible for all the calls. The Texas A&M incident, with its targeting of the medical-school component of a public R1 flagship rather than a residence hall, demonstrated that swatters were studying the campus geography of their targets rather than calling at random.
Analysis

Key Findings

TAMU was one of nine Texas schools hit by the same swatting caller in a single morning
The targeting of the Health Science Center — a medical school component — showed swatters studying campus geography
The Code Maroon emergency notification system, created after Virginia Tech, alerted within minutes
TAMU PD explicitly used the word 'hoax' in its all-clear, a direct choice not all universities make
The April 13 Texas wave was part of the broader April 4-13, 2023 multi-state swatting campaign hitting more than 20 universities
Outcome
No injuries occurred and no shooter was found. TAMU PD and partner agencies cleared the Health Science Center within approximately 90 minutes. The incident was confirmed as part of a coordinated Texas-wide swatting attack believed to come from a single caller. Federal felony charges were sought against the suspect.
Provenance

Sources

  1. News
    Texas A&M among series of statewide campus 'swatting' calls (KBTX)
    kbtx.com
  2. News
    Collin College, Texas Wesleyan hit by apparent 'hoax' active shooter reports (CBS Texas)
    cbsnews.com
  3. News
    Texas Colleges Respond to Rash of Hoax Shooting Calls (NBC 5 DFW)
    nbcdfw.com
  4. Student Paper
    Baylor one of many schools affected by active shooter hoax across Texas, nation (Baylor Lariat)
    baylorlariat.com
  5. Official
    CODE MAROON Emergency Notification System (Texas A&M Official)
    codemaroon.tamu.edu
  6. News
    Authorities respond to false reports of active shooters at several Texas colleges (KRLD/Audacy)
    audacy.com
Tags
swattingtexas-amtexasapril-2023-swatting-wavecode-maroonhealth-science-centerbryan-campuscoordinated-multi-school-attackpublic-r1state-flagshipfbi-investigationHoax
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion