Campus Alert Archive
UO

A Blocked Caller Tells the Rec-Center Staffer 'I'm Going to Shoot,' Then Hangs Up: UO's Spring-Term Swatting Hoax

ORswattingemergency notificationhigh 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.

At approximately 11:10 AM PDT on May 6, 2026, a staff member at the University of Oregon's Student Recreation Center received a call from a blocked, unlisted number from a person who threatened to carry out a shooting and immediately hung up. UO Police Department officers cleared the building, interviewed the staffer, and conducted interior and exterior sweeps. UO issued a campus-wide alert just after 1 PM, followed by an all-clear at 1:54 PM. Officials determined the call's lack of specificity was consistent with the Purgatory-linked swatting wave that had targeted dozens of US universities during the prior nine months.

Alerts
3
Response
—
Killed
—
Injured
—
Institution
University of Oregon
Public R1 · OR
~23,000 studentsUO Alerts
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

3 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 reconstruction167 chars
UO Alert: Reported threat at the Student Recreation Center. Avoid the area. UO Police on scene. More information to follow. Follow run-hide-fight if you are in danger.

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

Reconstructed initial UO Alert SMS consistent with the timing of UOPD's [arrival at the Student Rec Center](https://dailyemerald.com/187713/news/uopd-identifies-no-threat-at-student-rec-center-after-reported-swatting-call/) shortly after the 11:10 AM blocked-number call
Run-hide-fight language has become the [default UO Alert framing](https://safety.uoregon.edu/alerts) for any reported armed-threat incident, regardless of swatting suspicion — the alert is written for the worst case
UO's spring-term timing put the May 6 incident squarely in the [final-exams approach window](https://registrar.uoregon.edu/calendars/academic) — a period when rec-center traffic is typically elevated and when alert audiences are at maximum vigilance
UPDATESMS
Approximate reconstructionDaily Emerald — UOPD identifies no threat at Student Rec Center after reported swatting call195 chars
UO Alert: UO Police Department has cleared the Student Recreation Center. No threat has been identified. Investigation continues into a phone call received by Rec Center staff. Updates to follow.

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

Reconstructed campus-wide update consistent with the [just-after-1 PM timestamp](https://dailyemerald.com/187713/news/uopd-identifies-no-threat-at-student-rec-center-after-reported-swatting-call/) Daily Emerald reported for the building-clearance message
UO's phrasing 'no threat has been identified' is intentionally narrower than 'all clear' — it allows the investigation to continue without conveying that the campus is risk-free, a useful linguistic distinction in suspected-swatting cases
[NBC16](https://nbc16.com/news/local/university-of-oregon-issues-alert-after-reported-swatting-incident-at-student-rec-center-eugene-lane-county) and [KVAL](https://kval.com/news/local/university-of-oregon-issues-alert-after-reported-swatting-incident-at-student-rec-center) both characterized the call as a swatting incident in their headlines within the hour
ALL CLEARmulti-channel+50 min
Verified verbatimUniversity of Oregon Division of Safety and Risk Services official alert archive — 'UO Alert Eugene ALL CLEAR: Student Rec Center Swatting Incident' page, published 1:50 p.m. PDT May 6, 2026223 chars
Swatting is a criminal hoax where a caller falsely reports an emergency to law enforcement. UOPD has assessed the situation at the Student Recreation Center and the threat was unfounded. The SRC continues normal operations.
Verbatim body text of the UO official archive page for the ALL CLEAR notification, published at 1:50 p.m. PDT on May 6, 2026 (page title: 'UO Alert Eugene ALL CLEAR: Student Rec Center Swatting Incident')
The body text defines swatting, confirms UOPD's assessment, and restores operations — UO's standard post-swatting all-clear template by mid-2026
The 40-minute envelope from initial BE AWARE alert (just after 1 p.m.) to all-clear (1:50 p.m.) is consistent with the rapid clearing described by KVAL and NBC16
Context

Background

By May 2026, the Purgatory-linked swatting wave — chronicled by The Trace, CNN, and ABC News as a coordinated cybercriminal operation targeting US universities since August 2025 — had hit more than thirty campuses. The University of Oregon's Student Recreation Center became the May 6, 2026 target. According to UOPD's account quoted by the Daily Emerald and Lookout Eugene-Springfield, a staff member at the Rec Center received a call at approximately 11:10 AM PDT from a blocked, unlisted number. The caller threatened to carry out a shooting and immediately hung up. UOPD officers interviewed the staffer, swept the building's interior and exterior, and determined the threat lacked specificity. UO sent a campus-wide alert shortly after 1 PM, followed by an all-clear at 1:54 PM that explicitly named the incident as a swatting hoax. The case is notable on several dimensions: first, the target was an athletic-recreation venue rather than the classroom-bomb-threat archetype that dominated earlier swatting waves; second, the 44-minute alert envelope — initial to all-clear — was at the fast end of the 2025-2026 response cycle; third, UO explicitly characterized the call as a swatting hoax in its public messaging, reflecting institutional confidence built up over the prior nine months as federal investigators identified the Purgatory group. The Daily Emerald's coverage placed the incident in continuity with the prior June 2024 UO Rec Center robbery — a different (real) crime, same building — to underline that the Rec Center had become a focus of both real and hoaxed threats.
Analysis

Key Findings

By May 2026, the Purgatory-linked swatting wave had progressed from hesitant institutional language ('reported threat') to explicit naming ('swatting hoax') in all-clear messaging — a maturation of campus-response vocabulary
The 44-minute initial-to-all-clear envelope was at the fast end of the 2025-2026 swatting-response cycle, reflecting institutional learning across the wave
Athletic-recreation facilities (Rec Center, gym, pool) joined classrooms and libraries as primary swatting targets — broadening the campus communication burden across non-academic settings
UOPD's stated rationale — 'lack of specificity' — has become the de facto field test for distinguishing swatting from credible threats during initial assessment
Outcome
No threat found. Building cleared and reopened the same afternoon. UOPD characterized the incident as a swatting hoax consistent with the 'Purgatory'-style threat pattern targeting US campuses since August 2025.
Provenance

Sources

  1. News
    Shooting threat at UO rec center deemed false after police clear building (Lookout Eugene-Springfield)
    lookouteugene-springfield.com
  2. Student Paper
    UOPD identifies no threat at Student Rec Center after reported swatting call (Daily Emerald)
    dailyemerald.com
  3. News
    Student Recreation Center returns to normal operations after brief lockdown; 'All Clear' (KVAL)
    kval.com
  4. News
    University of Oregon issues Alert after reported swatting incident at Student Rec Center (NBC16)
    nbc16.com
  5. Official
    Latest Alerts | Division of Safety and Risk Services (University of Oregon)
    safety.uoregon.edu
  6. News
    School Shooting 'Swatting' Calls Are Traumatizing Young People (The Trace)
    thetrace.org
Tags
swattingrec-centerathletic-venuepurgatoryconfirmed-hoaxphone-threatblocked-numberlack-of-specificityoregonpublic-r1spring-termemergency-notificationHoax
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion