Campus Alert Archive
CSI

A Hoax Shooter Call Next Door Put a Whole Community College on Hold

IDswattingemergency notificationmedium confidence

On February 22, 2023, the College of Southern Idaho in Twin Falls issued a shelter-in-place order and canceled morning classes after a swatting hoax reported an active shooter at nearby Canyon Ridge High School. The threat was determined to be a hoax with no shooter, weapon, or injuries, part of a wave of spoof calls hitting Idaho schools that morning.

Alerts
2
Response
—
Killed
—
Injured
—
Institution
College of Southern Idaho
Community College · ID
CSI 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 ALERTmulti-channel
Approximate reconstruction219 chars
CSI Alert: Shelter in place. Due to a law enforcement response in the area, morning classes are canceled and the campus is under shelter-in-place until the area is cleared. Remain indoors and await further instructions.

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

Reconstructed: KOZE and KMVT reported CSI canceled classes and sheltered in place while emergency crews swept nearby Canyon Ridge High School; the precise notification wording was not archived.
Twin Falls is in the Mountain Time zone, distinguishing CSI from Pacific-Time northern Idaho institutions.
ALL CLEARmulti-channel
Approximate reconstruction189 chars
CSI Alert: The area has been cleared by law enforcement. The shelter-in-place order is lifted and classes will resume at 1:30 p.m. There is no threat to campus. Thank you for your patience.

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

Reconstructed: KMVT reported classes were canceled until 1:30 p.m. MST while crews swept the high school, then resumed once the area was cleared.
This is a true all-clear: it lifted shelter-in-place and resumed classes rather than maintaining restrictions.
Context

Background

The College of Southern Idaho's February 22, 2023 shutdown shows how a swatting hoax at one school can ripple through neighboring institutions. According to KOZE, Twin Falls Police received a false active-shooter report at Canyon Ridge High School, prompting CSI to issue a shelter-in-place and cancel morning classes while crews searched the high school. KMVT reported the threat was a hoax with no shooter, weapon, or injuries, and classes resumed by about 1:30 p.m. MST. As Boise State Public Radio later detailed, Twin Falls was one of many communities hit by coordinated hoax school-shooting calls in early 2023. CSI faced a second shelter-in-place for campus residents in September 2023, reflecting how often open-access community colleges absorb these disruptions.
Analysis

Key Findings

CSI sheltered in place and canceled morning classes on February 22, 2023 because of a swatting hoax at adjacent Canyon Ridge High School
The active-shooter report was a hoax with no shooter, weapon, or injuries found
The incident was part of a wave of coordinated spoof school-shooting calls hitting Idaho that morning
CSI sits in the Mountain Time zone, unlike Pacific-Time northern Idaho, and the case adds community-college representation in Idaho
Outcome
Law enforcement searched Canyon Ridge High School and found no shooter, weapon, or injuries. CSI lifted shelter-in-place and resumed classes by about 1:30 p.m. MST.
Provenance

Sources

  1. News
    Idaho Schools Hit With 'Swatting' Hoaxes - KOZE
    koze.com
  2. News
    Canyon Ridge H.S. shooting threat was a hoax, local and state officials comment - KMVT
    kmvt.com
  3. News
    Twin Falls, Idaho falls victim to hoax school shooting call - Boise State Public Radio
    boisestatepublicradio.org
Tags
swattingfalse-alarmidahocommunity-collegeshelter-in-placeemergency-notification2023-swatting-wave
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion