Campus Alert Archive
UTC

Eight Months After UTC's Library Was Cleared at Gunpoint, the FBI Charged a Pennsylvania Teen Who Belonged to 'Purgatory'

TNswattingadvisoryhigh 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 May 1, 2026, the FBI announced charges against a Pennsylvania juvenile for the August 21, 2025 active-shooter hoax that locked down UTC's library and triggered a massive law-enforcement response. The juvenile, a self-identified member of a cybercriminal group called Purgatory, is accused of randomly targeting universities across the country. UTC issued a follow-up community advisory and the chancellor sent a campus message thanking the FBI and the campus community.

Alerts
2
Response
—
Killed
0
Injured
0
Institution
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
Public R2 · TN
~11,000 studentsUTC-Alert
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 ALERTEmail
Approximate reconstructionReconstructed from the official UTC News post 'FBI announces arrest involving Aug. 21, 2025 active shooter hoax'415 chars
UTC Community Advisory: The FBI today announced that a juvenile has been charged in connection with the August 21, 2025 active-shooter hoax call that placed our campus on lockdown. The individual, who is not affiliated with UTC, was identified through coordinated work with federal partners. We thank the FBI, the U.S. Attorney's Office, and our local law enforcement partners. There is no current threat to campus.

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

The original August 21, 2025 hoax began with a false report of an active shooter inside the UTC library at 12:42 PM EDT, prompting a campus-wide lockdown
U.S. Attorney David Metcalf announced the charges on April 30, 2026; UTC issued its community advisory on May 1, 2026
FOLLOW-UPEmail
Approximate reconstructionReconstructed from the Mocs News article 'From the UTC Chancellor: Reaction to Shooting Hoax Arrest'436 chars
From the Chancellor: I want to express my deep gratitude to the FBI, the U.S. Attorney's Office, and the Chattanooga Police Department for their tireless work in identifying the individual responsible for the August 21, 2025 hoax. Although the call was a fabrication, the impact on our students, faculty, and staff was real and traumatic. I also want to recognize the courage of our campus community on that day. Mocs take care of Mocs.

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

The chancellor's message specifically named the trauma the hoax inflicted, an acknowledgment that swatting incidents have lasting psychological impact even when no one is physically harmed
UTC tied the message to the 'Mocs take care of Mocs' brand line, a deliberate framing of community resilience
Context

Background

On August 21, 2025, the first week of fall classes at UTC, an anonymous caller falsely reported an active shooter inside the campus library, prompting an immediate large-scale law-enforcement response. UTC issued a campus alert at 12:42 p.m. EDT warning of a potential active shooter outside the university center or library; officers methodically cleared buildings and evacuated students before lifting the lockdown about an hour later. Erlanger hospital separately received an unfounded threat the same day. On April 30, 2026, U.S. Attorney David Metcalf announced charges against a Pennsylvania juvenile in connection with the hoax. According to federal prosecutors, the juvenile is a self-identified member of a cybercriminal group called Purgatory and randomly targeted universities and institutions across the country with similar swatting calls during the same period. UTC issued a community advisory confirming there was no current threat, and Chancellor Steven Angle followed with a campus message explicitly naming the lasting trauma the hoax had caused. The case illustrates how the post-incident 'closure' message has become a standard part of the campus-alert ecosystem, with universities investing rhetorical effort in framing resolution as community resilience even when the underlying perpetrator is a single anonymous teenager.
Analysis

Key Findings

The Pennsylvania juvenile is identified as a member of the 'Purgatory' cybercriminal group that targeted multiple universities with swatting calls
The original UTC lockdown lasted about an hour, with campus library and university center cleared at gunpoint
UTC's chancellor explicitly named the lasting trauma the hoax inflicted, going beyond the standard procedural language of campus advisories
The arrest came over eight months after the incident, demonstrating the federal investigative timeline for swatting cases
Outcome
A juvenile from Pennsylvania faces federal charges for placing the August 21, 2025 active-shooter hoax call to UTC. The juvenile is described as a member of a cybercriminal group known as Purgatory. UTC's library and university center were searched at gunpoint during the original incident; no one was injured, and Erlanger hospital separately received an unfounded threat the same day.
Provenance

Sources

  1. Official
    FBI announces arrest involving Aug. 21, 2025 active shooter hoax - UTC News
    blog.utc.edu
  2. Official
    From the UTC Chancellor: Reaction to Shooting Hoax Arrest - Mocs News
    mocsnews.com
  3. News
    Juvenile charged following 'swatting' calls targeting UTC, other universities - Chattanooga Times Free Press
    timesfreepress.com
  4. News
    Charges Announced Against Cybercriminal Group 'Purgatory' Member For Swatting Calls - Chattanoogan.com
    chattanoogan.com
  5. News
    DOJ says Pennsylvania juvenile faces federal charges tied to August 2025 UTC swatting hoax - NewsChannel 9
    newschannel9.com
Tags
swattingtennesseepublic-r2purgatorycybercriminal-groupfederal-chargesfbiactive-shooter-hoaxHoax
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion