Campus Alert Archive
UC Davis

'ACTIVE SHOOTER on UC Davis Campus': How a Drill SMS Went Out Without the Word 'Drill'

CAothertesthigh confidence
UnfoundedNo evidence of an actual threat was found. The institutional response is documented because the alert communication is identical to what would occur during a real incident.

On August 21, 2025, UC Davis sent an active shooter WarnMe SMS at 9:03 a.m. PDT that did not include the word 'DRILL' in the text body. The message was intended to reach only Police and Fire Department personnel participating in a yearly mass casualty exercise at the Activities and Recreation Center, but it was distributed to a broader Nixle audience. A correction was sent 16 minutes later.

Alerts
2
Response
—
Killed
0
Injured
0
Institution
University of California, Davis
Public R1 · CA
~40,000 studentsEverbridge / NixleWarnMe / Aggie Alert
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

2 messages in sequence · 2 verified verbatim

INITIAL ALERTSMS
Verified verbatimThe California Aggie81 chars
ACTIVE SHOOTER on UC Davis campus. Evacuate safely or seek shelter and barricade.
Sent at 9:03 a.m. PDT on August 21, 2025 with no indication that the message was a drill
An accompanying Nixle web link did contain 'drill' wording, but recipients did not always see the link before reacting
Use of the Run-Hide-Fight phrasing ('Evacuate safely or seek shelter and barricade') is consistent with UC's standardized active shooter language
CORRECTIONSMS+16 min
Verified verbatimDavis Enterprise153 chars
A DRILL WarnMe message was sent a few minutes ago without being labeled as DRILL. There is no active threat on campus. We apologize for the alarm caused.
Correction issued 16 minutes after the original message at 9:19 a.m. PDT on August 21, 2025
Capitalization of 'DRILL' twice in a 28-word message reflects an attempt to ensure the word is not missed
UC Davis published a separate web statement (WarnMe Message Sent in Error) that same day attributing the over-distribution to the Nixle service
Context

Background

UC Davis's August 21, 2025 erroneous active shooter alert is one of the highest-profile alert system failures of the past several years. The message originated from an annual training drill at the Activities and Recreation Center and was supposed to reach only UC Davis Police and Fire Department personnel. Instead, the SMS body—'ACTIVE SHOOTER on UC Davis campus. Evacuate safely or seek shelter and barricade.'—was distributed via the Nixle service to a broader audience. The 16-minute interval before the correction was sent generated significant fear: students and staff posted on social media that they were barricading classrooms, and Davis-area parents flooded the city's emergency lines. The incident echoed similar erroneous active shooter alerts at other institutions and prompted UC system-wide review of test message protocols. UC Davis published an explainer that day attributing the issue to the Nixle distribution layer rather than human error in drafting the message.
Analysis

Key Findings

An accompanying Nixle web link did include 'DRILL' language, but recipients reacting to the SMS did not always click through before sheltering
16-minute correction window was faster than many comparable erroneous alerts, but still generated significant community panic
The over-distribution was attributed to the Nixle alerting service, illustrating the risk of multi-vendor alert architectures
UC Davis's run-hide-fight phrasing matches UC system standardized language, meaning the message read as authentically threatening rather than test-flagged
Outcome
Correction issued at 9:19 a.m. PDT. UC Davis later confirmed that a Nixle alerting service distribution error had pushed the SMS to additional recipients beyond the police/fire training group. No injuries reported; significant community confusion documented.
Provenance

Sources

  1. Student Paper
    BREAKING: UC Davis active shooter warning sent to students fails to note it was a drill (The Aggie)
    theaggie.org
  2. Official
    WarnMe Message Sent in Error (UC Davis)
    ucdavis.edu
  3. News
    UC Davis active shooter alert was sent in error, school says (CBS Sacramento)
    cbsnews.com
  4. News
    UCD sends erroneous active-shooter alert (Davis Enterprise)
    davisenterprise.com
Tags
testdrill-gone-wrongalert-system-failureuc-systemcaliforniadaviswarnmeaggie-alertnixleactive-shooter-languageUnfounded
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion