{
  "id": "2025-09-02-university-of-maryland-swatting",
  "slug": "university-of-maryland-swatting-2025-09-02",
  "institution": {
    "name": "University of Maryland, College Park",
    "shortName": "UMD",
    "state": "MD",
    "type": "public-r1",
    "alertSystemName": "UMD Alerts",
    "enrollment": 41000
  },
  "incident": {
    "date": "2025-09-02",
    "type": "swatting",
    "cleryCategory": "emergency-notification",
    "resolution": "confirmed-hoax",
    "headline": "Early-morning false report of a rifle near the main library; no evidence of gunfire found",
    "headlinePublic": "Early-morning false report of a rifle near the main library; no evidence of gunfire found",
    "summary": "At 4:17 AM EDT on September 2, 2025, a false report of a person with an AR-style weapon was called in to Prince George's County Public Safety Communications, claiming an active shooter near [McKeldin Library](https://dbknews.com/2025/09/02/false-active-shooter-mckeldin-library/) on UMD's campus. A UMPD officer already patrolling McKeldin Mall at that time saw and heard nothing suspicious, and the university's [gunshot detection system confirmed no shots fired](https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/education/university-of-maryland-hit-by-active-shooter-hoax/65-f089a215-f6e5-4229-abde-cf7579c81e9e). UMD was one of approximately 20 universities targeted by swatting hoaxes that week.",
    "outcome": "The report was quickly determined to be a false alarm with help from allied agencies and the Security Operations Center. No evidence of gunfire, no weapon, no injuries. The incident was part of a nationwide wave of swatting targeting approximately 20 universities.",
    "casualties": {
      "killed": 0,
      "injured": 0
    }
  },
  "alerts": [
    {
      "sequence": 1,
      "type": "follow-up",
      "timestampApprox": "Morning of September 2, 2025 EDT, after the 4:17 AM call was determined false",
      "channel": "email",
      "verbatimText": "In recent weeks, there has been an increase of false active shooter reports, targeting institutions of higher education across the country. Approximately 20 colleges and universities have been impacted.\n\nWe take these matters very seriously. Whenever we get a call that impacts our campus community, we take into account the totality of the circumstances and respond accordingly.\n\nAt 4:17 a.m. today, UMPD was notified by the Prince George's County Public Safety Communications of a similar report in the McKeldin Library area.\n\nA UMPD officer was already patrolling McKeldin Mall. That officer had not heard or seen anything suspicious, and UMPD did not receive a notification from our gun-shot detection technology system. UMPD did not receive any other calls from our community reporting gunfire.\n\nWith the assistance from our allied agencies and our Security Operations Center, it was determined that this call was a false report and there was no threat to our community.\n\nWe understand how this can be distressing to members of our community. Below are resources that are available to you should you need to reach out.\n\nAs always, we encourage our community to report suspicious activity and/or behavior to UMPD immediately by calling 301-405-3333 or through the UMD Guardian app.\n\nUniversity of Maryland Police Department\nEmergency Number - 301-405-3333 / #3333 from a mobile phone (AT&T and Verizon Wireless) / 911\nNon-Emergency Number - 301-405-3555\n\nPrince George's County Police Department\nEmergency Number - 911\nNon-Emergency Number - 301-352-1200\n\nOffice of Emergency Management and Business Continuity\nhttps://prepare.umd.edu/ for quick access to phone numbers and emergency guide\n\nUMD Guardian (Mobile Campus Safety App)\nhttps://umpdnews.umd.edu/download-umd-guardian-app-today\n\nUMD Police Walking Escort\n301-405-3555\n\nNITE Ride\n\n301-314-3687\n\nhttps://transportation.umd.edu/shuttle-um/nite-ride\n\nADA/504 Coordinator\n\n301-405-2841\n\nhttps://accessibility.umd.edu/\n\nFaculty Staff Assistance Program (FSAP)\n\n301-314-8170\n\nFSAPadmin@umd.edu\n\nhttps://health.umd.edu/fsap\n\nBias Incident Support Services\n\n301-405-0980\n\nhttps://biassupport.umd.edu/\n\nBiasSupport@umd.edu\n\nHelp Center (Peer Counseling & Crisis Intervention)\n\n301-314-4357\n\nhttps://helpcenterumd.org/\n\nCounseling Center\n\n301-314-7651\n\nhttps://counseling.umd.edu/\n\nCARE Office (Free & Confidential resource for those impacted by Sexual & Relationship Violence)\n\n301-741-3442\n\nhttps://health.umd.edu/CARE\n\nHealth Center",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://alert.umd.edu/alerts/umd-advisory-false-report-campus-incident",
      "sourceDescription": "UMD Alerts archive (UMD Advisory: False Report of Campus Incident)",
      "annotations": [
        "Verbatim text from the official UMD Advisory: False Report of Campus Incident posted to alert.umd.edu on September 2, 2025",
        "Notably, UMPD did not send a real-time emergency alert during the incident; the advisory was issued after the call had already been determined a hoax",
        "The 4:17 AM EDT timing minimized disruption, as few students were on campus at that hour",
        "2026-09-21 second deep audit b50 P4 a1-noledger-single-alert-public-case. Recapture official product at product boundary. Dual html.parser walk+regex. Cap-exempt R1."
      ],
      "characterCount": 2488
    }
  ],
  "context": "At 4:17 AM EDT on September 2, 2025, the University of Maryland Police Department was alerted to a [report of an active shooter near McKeldin Library](https://dbknews.com/2025/09/02/false-active-shooter-mckeldin-library/) via Prince George's County Public Safety Communications. The caller reported a person with an AR-style weapon. However, a UMPD officer was already patrolling McKeldin Mall at that exact time and reported not seeing or hearing anything suspicious. The university's [gunshot detection technology system also had not triggered](https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/education/university-of-maryland-hit-by-active-shooter-hoax/65-f089a215-f6e5-4229-abde-cf7579c81e9e), providing a second layer of counter-evidence. With assistance from allied agencies and the Security Operations Center, the call was quickly determined to be a false report. UMD was among the [victims of an escalating wave of swatting](https://wtop.com/maryland/2025/09/false-report-of-shooting-at-umd-campus-latest-to-hit-colleges-across-us/) targeting college campuses, with approximately 20 universities hit by similar hoaxes that week alone. By mid-September 2025, [at least 45 colleges and universities](https://www.campussafetymagazine.com/news/surge-in-swatting-incidents-u-s-colleges-continue-to-be-targeted-by-false-active-shooter-reports/173172/) had been victimized during the fall semester. The [4:17 AM EDT timing of the call](https://www.fox5dc.com/news/fake-shooting-report-umd-comes-amidst-wave-college-campus-hoaxes) minimized disruption, as few students were on campus.",
  "keyFindings": [
    "UMD's gunshot detection system and a patrolling officer provided immediate counter-evidence, enabling rapid confirmation of the false alarm",
    "The 4:17 AM EDT timing minimized disruption but also meant fewer potential witnesses to corroborate or refute the report",
    "UMD was one of approximately 20 universities targeted by swatting hoaxes in a single week during fall 2025"
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "title": "UMD receives false report of active shooter near McKeldin Library (The Diamondback)",
      "url": "https://dbknews.com/2025/09/02/false-active-shooter-mckeldin-library/",
      "type": "student-newspaper"
    },
    {
      "title": "University of Maryland reports false active shooter on campus (WUSA9)",
      "url": "https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/education/university-of-maryland-hit-by-active-shooter-hoax/65-f089a215-f6e5-4229-abde-cf7579c81e9e",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "False report of shooting at U.Md. campus is latest hit to colleges across US (WTOP)",
      "url": "https://wtop.com/maryland/2025/09/false-report-of-shooting-at-umd-campus-latest-to-hit-colleges-across-us/",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "Fake shooting report at UMD comes amidst wave of college campus hoaxes (FOX 5 DC)",
      "url": "https://www.fox5dc.com/news/fake-shooting-report-umd-comes-amidst-wave-college-campus-hoaxes",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "Surge in Swatting Incidents: Number of Hoax Threats Continues to Grow (Campus Safety Magazine)",
      "url": "https://www.campussafetymagazine.com/news/surge-in-swatting-incidents-u-s-colleges-continue-to-be-targeted-by-false-active-shooter-reports/173172/",
      "type": "other"
    },
    {
      "title": "UMD Alerts archive (UMD Advisory: False Report of Campus Incident)",
      "url": "https://alert.umd.edu/alerts/umd-advisory-false-report-campus-incident",
      "type": "official-archive"
    }
  ],
  "confidence": "medium",
  "tags": [
    "swatting",
    "maryland",
    "hoax",
    "gunshot-detection",
    "wave-of-threats",
    "public-university",
    "overnight-incident"
  ],
  "dateAdded": "2026-05-03",
  "lastUpdated": "2026-09-21",
  "addedBy": "ingestion",
  "annotations": [
    "B36 first-message queue 2026-08-16: first preserved message is type follow-up (not 'initial'); no earlier official initial located on cited source at re-check. Record starts here; type left unchanged."
  ],
  "dateModified": "2026-08-16"
}