Campus Alert Archive
FIU

Swatting call targeting a health sciences building cleared within about 30 minutes

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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 the morning of Tuesday, May 2, 2023, Florida International University, the largest Hispanic-Serving Institution in the United States, was the highest-profile target of a coordinated swatting wave that hit at least five South Florida campuses in a single morning. FIU's alert system pushed an SMS reading 'A dangerous situation is occurring on or near campus! Evacuate the area NOW.' for AHC 3 (the Academic Health Center / College of Nursing) on the MMC main campus. Within roughly 30 minutes, FIU Police had cleared the building and posted publicly that the call appeared to be false. FIU Police Chief Alexander Casas called the hoax 'an incredible drain on resources.'

Alerts
4
Response
—
Killed
0
Injured
0
Institution
Florida International University
Public R1 · FL
All FIU cases →
~56,000 studentsFIU Alert
Documented Timeline

Alert Sequence

4 messages in sequence · 4 verified verbatim

INITIAL ALERTSMS
Verified verbatimWSVN 7News Miami quoted the FIU Alert SMS verbatim; also documented in Patch and Yahoo coverage of the May 2, 2023 incident88 chars
MMC Campus: A dangerous situation is occurring on or near campus! Evacuate the area NOW.
The 88-character SMS used FIU's standard 'dangerous situation' language template, deliberately vague on threat type to keep the message short, but prefixed with 'MMC Campus:' to scope the alert to the Modesto A. Maidique Campus in Miami
The SMS named no specific building, but a separate FIU Alert email reportedly cited 'possible shots fired at the College of Nursing building,' a discrepancy that students later criticized
Sent at approximately 9:30 a.m. EDT to FIU Alert subscribers, including students, faculty, and staff at the Modesto A. Maidique Campus (MMC) in Miami
The capitalized 'NOW' and the exclamation mark are preserved exactly as in the original WSVN-quoted alert
UPDATETwitter/X
Verified verbatim@FIU on X (verbatim raw t.co)238 chars
FIU Alert Update: This morning @FIUPOLICE received reports of an active shooter in AHC 3. Officers have cleared the building and are now conducting a methodical search. There is no danger to anyone on campus. The call appears to be false.
Posted approximately 30 minutes after the initial SMS, a fast public clearance for a swatting incident at a campus the size of FIU
The tweet specifically named AHC 3 (the building), finally giving the building-specific information that the initial SMS had omitted
The phrasing 'methodical search' is notable; the language signaled that even after clearing the building, FIU PD was continuing a careful sweep rather than declaring full all-clear
The phrase 'the call appears to be false' was deliberately tentative, preserving the option to revise if something was found later
ALL CLEARSMS
Verified verbatimWSVN 7News Miami documented the FIU Alert all-clear SMS verbatim, title 'All-clear given following dangerous situation at FIU's MMC campus'59 chars
MMC Campus: All Clear. All Clear. Resume normal activities.
All-clear came roughly one hour after the initial alert, fast for a building-by-building search at the largest HSI in the country
The doubled 'All Clear. All Clear.' is FIU's standard SMS template construction, the repetition is a deliberate Clery-style emphasis preserved verbatim
Notably terse (only 59 characters) and does not name AHC 3 or use the word 'hoax', leaving the operational characterization to FIU Police Chief Alexander Casas's separate verbal statement to reporters
UPDATETwitter/X
Verified verbatim@FIU on X (verbatim)215 chars
F I U ALERT! MMC Campus: A dangerous situation is occurring on or near campus! Evacuate the area NOW. The activities on the east side of campus are isolated at this time. The west side of campus continues as normal.
Verified complete alert text on https://x.com/FIU/status/1653390447501275137; archiveUrl null.
Official same-day cascade from @FIU.
Message elements

How the first alert is built

To check this alert, Claude (an AI) read it in full 25 separate times, independently. Each read decided whether the message answers each of the six questions and gave a short reason. A final reviewer then weighed all 25 and wrote the plain-English verdict you see when you open a row. The score (for example 22/25) is how many reads agreed; the 25 individual reads are tucked underneath if you want to check them.

MMC Campus: A dangerous situation is occurring on or near campus! Evacuate the area NOW.

  • Sourceabsent0/25

    Final assessment

    Unanimous: no sender, agency, or branded signature identifies who issued this message, so the source is absent.

    Who is sending the alert and who is responding. People act faster on a message from a clearly identifiable, credible sender, such as a named department, the police, or a branded alert system, than on an anonymous notice. A branded signature counts.

    See all 25 individual reads
    1. absent: No sender, agency, or branded signature identifies who issued this message.
    2. absent: No sender, brand, or agency identifies who issued this alert.
    3. absent: No sender, agency, or branded signature identifies the issuer.
    4. absent: No sender tag, university, or agency identifies who issues the message.
    5. absent: No sender, agency, or branded signature identifies who sent it.
    6. absent: No sender, agency, or branded signature identifies who issued this alert.
    7. absent: No branded signature, sender tag, or named authority identifies who is sending the message.
    8. absent: No sender name, branded tag, or issuing authority appears in the text.
    9. absent: No branded signature, agency, or institution identifies the sender; "MMC Campus" is a place label.
    10. absent: No sender, branded signature, or named authority appears in the text.
    11. absent: No sender, agency, or branded signature identifies who is sending this alert.
    12. absent: No sender, branded tag, or authority is identified in the text.
    13. absent: No sender, university name, or agency is identified in the message.
    14. absent: No sender tag or issuing authority is named in the alert.
    15. absent: No sender, agency, or branded signature is named in this message.
    16. absent: No sender, agency, or branded signature identifies who issued this message.
    17. absent: No branded signature, agency, or institution names itself as sender.
    18. absent: No sender, signature, or issuing authority is named in the text.
    19. absent: No sender, branded tag, or named authority is identified; "MMC Campus" is a place, not a sender.
    20. absent: No sender, university, or agency is named in the text.
    21. absent: No sender, authority, or branded signature is named in the message.
    22. absent: No sender tag or agency names itself; "MMC Campus" is a place label, not a sender.
    23. absent: No sender, signature, or authority is identified in the text.
    24. absent: No sender tag, agency, or branded signature identifies who issued this MMC message.
    25. absent: No sender, university, or agency is named in the text.
  • Hazardabsent0/25

    Final assessment

    Unanimous: it cites a dangerous situation but names no specific threat.

    What the threat actually is. A complete warning names the specific danger, such as a shooter, a fire, a tornado, or a gas leak, rather than a vague emergency, because people decide what to do based on what they are facing.

    See all 25 individual reads
    1. absent: It says "A dangerous situation" but names no specific threat.
    2. absent: It says "A dangerous situation is occurring" but names no specific hazard.
    3. absent: It says "A dangerous situation" generically without naming a hazard.
    4. absent: It says "A dangerous situation" but names no specific hazard.
    5. absent: It says "A dangerous situation" but names no specific threat.
    6. absent: It says "A dangerous situation" but names no specific threat.
    7. absent: It says only "A dangerous situation" with no specific threat named.
    8. absent: It says "A dangerous situation" but names no specific hazard.
    9. absent: It says "A dangerous situation" but names no specific hazard.
    10. absent: It says "A dangerous situation" with no specific hazard named.
    11. absent: It says "A dangerous situation" but names no specific hazard.
    12. absent: It says only "A dangerous situation", which is generic and does not name the hazard.
    13. absent: It says "A dangerous situation" but names no specific threat.
    14. absent: It says "A dangerous situation" but names no specific hazard.
    15. absent: It says "A dangerous situation" but never names a specific threat.
    16. absent: It says "A dangerous situation" but names no specific threat, which is generic.
    17. absent: It says "A dangerous situation" only, naming no specific hazard.
    18. absent: It says "A dangerous situation", which is generic and names no specific hazard.
    19. absent: It says "A dangerous situation" without naming any specific threat.
    20. absent: It says "A dangerous situation" but names no specific hazard.
    21. absent: It says "A dangerous situation is occurring" but names no specific hazard.
    22. absent: Says "A dangerous situation"; no specific threat is named.
    23. absent: Says "A dangerous situation", which is generic and does not name the hazard.
    24. absent: It says "A dangerous situation" but names no specific hazard or threat.
    25. absent: It cites a "dangerous situation" only, naming no specific hazard.
  • Locationpresent25/25

    Final assessment

    Unanimous: it locates it on or near the MMC Campus, a stated location.

    Where the threat is. Saying whether danger is in a specific building, a part of campus, or area-wide lets people judge their own proximity and choose a safe direction. Without a where, a warning is hard to act on precisely.

    See all 25 individual reads
    1. present: It locates it "on or near campus" at "MMC Campus".
    2. present: It locates it at "MMC Campus" and "on or near campus".
    3. present: It says "MMC Campus" and "on or near campus".
    4. present: It says "MMC Campus" and "on or near campus".
    5. present: It places it on "MMC Campus" and "on or near campus".
    6. present: It specifies "MMC Campus" and "on or near campus", a location.
    7. present: It names "MMC Campus" and "on or near campus", a location.
    8. present: It names "MMC Campus" and "the area".
    9. present: It says "on or near campus" and "MMC Campus".
    10. present: It says "MMC Campus" and "on or near campus".
    11. present: It specifies "MMC Campus" and "on or near campus".
    12. present: It says "MMC Campus" and "on or near campus".
    13. present: It says "on or near campus" and references "MMC Campus".
    14. present: It says "MMC Campus" and "on or near campus", a location.
    15. present: It says "MMC Campus" and "on or near campus".
    16. present: It names "MMC Campus" and "on or near campus", specific places.
    17. present: It says "MMC Campus" and "on or near campus", specific places.
    18. present: It says "on or near campus" and names "MMC Campus".
    19. present: It locates it "on or near campus" at the MMC Campus.
    20. present: It says "on or near campus" and names "MMC Campus".
    21. present: It says "MMC Campus" and "on or near campus", a location.
    22. present: Names "MMC Campus" and says "on or near campus".
    23. present: Locates it on "MMC Campus" and "on or near campus".
    24. present: It names "MMC Campus" and "on or near campus", specific places.
    25. present: It names "MMC Campus" and "on or near campus".
  • Guidancepresent25/25

    Final assessment

    Unanimous: it instructs recipients to evacuate the area now, protective guidance.

    The protective action to take. A clear, specific instruction, such as shelter in place, evacuate, avoid the area, or run-hide-fight, drives faster and more correct protective behavior than describing the threat alone.

    See all 25 individual reads
    1. present: It instructs recipients to "Evacuate the area NOW".
    2. present: It instructs recipients to "Evacuate the area NOW".
    3. present: It instructs "Evacuate the area NOW".
    4. present: It instructs "Evacuate the area NOW".
    5. present: It instructs recipients to "Evacuate the area NOW".
    6. present: It instructs recipients to "Evacuate the area NOW", a protective action.
    7. present: It instructs recipients to "Evacuate the area NOW", a protective action.
    8. present: It instructs "Evacuate the area NOW".
    9. present: It instructs recipients to "Evacuate the area NOW".
    10. present: It instructs recipients to "Evacuate the area NOW".
    11. present: It instructs recipients to "Evacuate the area NOW".
    12. present: It instructs recipients to "Evacuate the area NOW".
    13. present: It instructs recipients to "Evacuate the area NOW".
    14. present: It instructs "Evacuate the area NOW", a protective action.
    15. present: It instructs recipients to "Evacuate the area NOW".
    16. present: It instructs "Evacuate the area NOW", a protective action.
    17. present: It instructs "Evacuate the area NOW", protective action.
    18. present: It instructs "Evacuate the area NOW".
    19. present: It instructs recipients to "Evacuate the area NOW".
    20. present: It instructs "Evacuate the area NOW".
    21. present: It instructs "Evacuate the area NOW", a protective action.
    22. present: Instructs "Evacuate the area NOW".
    23. present: Instructs "Evacuate the area NOW", a protective action.
    24. present: It instructs to "Evacuate the area NOW", a protective action.
    25. present: It instructs recipients to "Evacuate the area NOW".
  • Timepresent25/25

    Final assessment

    Unanimous: the word now conveys immediacy and recency, so timing is present.

    When the message applies. A timestamp, the word now or immediately, or a phrase like until further notice tells the reader whether the danger is current and how quickly to act.

    See all 25 individual reads
    1. present: The word "NOW" conveys immediacy and recency.
    2. present: The word "NOW" conveys immediacy.
    3. present: It says "occurring" and "NOW", recency cues.
    4. present: It uses the recency cues "occurring" and "NOW".
    5. present: The word "NOW" conveys immediacy.
    6. present: It says "occurring" and "Evacuate the area NOW", recency cues.
    7. present: It conveys recency with "is occurring" and "NOW".
    8. present: It uses "NOW" and "is occurring" as recency cues.
    9. present: It uses "NOW", a recency cue.
    10. present: It uses "occurring" and "NOW", recency cues.
    11. present: It conveys immediacy with "occurring" and "Evacuate the area NOW".
    12. present: It says "NOW", an immediacy cue.
    13. present: It says "NOW", a recency cue.
    14. present: It says "is occurring" and "NOW", recency cues.
    15. present: It uses "NOW" and "is occurring", recency cues.
    16. present: It says "occurring" and "NOW", recency cues.
    17. present: It says "Evacuate the area NOW", a recency cue.
    18. present: It uses the recency word "NOW".
    19. present: The word "NOW" conveys immediacy and recency.
    20. present: It uses "NOW", a recency cue.
    21. present: It uses "is occurring" and "NOW", recency cues.
    22. present: Uses "NOW" and "is occurring", recency cues.
    23. present: Says "NOW", a recency cue, plus "is occurring".
    24. present: The word "NOW" conveys immediacy, a recency cue.
    25. present: It conveys recency with "occurring" and "NOW".
  • Impactpresent25/25

    Final assessment

    Present unanimously, 25 to 0: it explicitly describes a dangerous situation occurring on or near campus and orders immediate evacuation, directly conveying danger.

    What the hazard could do to the people in its path. Beyond naming the threat, a complete warning conveys its potential consequences or severity, such as that a tornado can level buildings or that a leak could be explosive, so recipients grasp how much danger they are in. Research on warning message content finds that a concrete impact statement helps people personalize their risk and act sooner.

    See all 25 individual reads
    1. present: It describes a dangerous situation occurring on or near campus and orders immediate evacuation, conveying explicit danger.
    2. present: This explicitly states a dangerous situation is occurring with directions to evacuate now, stating the danger.
    3. present: Explicitly states a dangerous situation is occurring with an order to evacuate now, conveying stated danger.
    4. present: It states a dangerous situation is occurring and orders immediate evacuation, explicitly conveying danger.
    5. present: Calls it a dangerous situation occurring and directs immediate evacuation, explicitly conveying danger.
    6. present: It explicitly states a dangerous situation is occurring and orders people to evacuate the area now which conveys a stated danger to people.
    7. present: States a dangerous situation is occurring and orders immediate evacuation, explicitly labeling the situation as dangerous.
    8. present: Explicitly states a dangerous situation is occurring and to evacuate now, conveying danger to people.
    9. present: States a dangerous situation is occurring and directs immediate evacuation, the dangerous-situation language conveying explicit danger.
    10. present: It states a dangerous situation is occurring and orders immediate evacuation, explicitly conveying danger.
    11. present: Explicitly states a dangerous situation is occurring and directs immediate evacuation, naming the danger.
    12. present: It explicitly states a dangerous situation is occurring and to evacuate NOW, naming the danger directly.
    13. present: A dangerous situation with evacuate the area NOW explicitly states danger and urges fleeing for safety.
    14. present: Says a dangerous situation is occurring and to evacuate now, explicitly labeling the situation as dangerous.
    15. present: States a dangerous situation is occurring and orders immediate evacuation, explicitly labeling the danger.
    16. present: States a dangerous situation is occurring and directs immediate evacuation, explicitly characterizing the situation as dangerous.
    17. present: Explicitly calls it a dangerous situation occurring on or near campus and orders immediate evacuation, a stated danger.
    18. present: States a dangerous situation is occurring and to evacuate now, explicitly conveying danger to people.
    19. present: Says a dangerous situation is occurring and to evacuate the area now, explicitly stating danger.
    20. present: States a dangerous situation is occurring and directs immediate evacuation, conveying danger to people.
    21. present: States a dangerous situation is occurring and to evacuate NOW, explicitly using danger language conveying harm potential.
    22. present: Describes a dangerous situation possibly an active shooter and orders immediate evacuation, conveying a danger to people.
    23. present: Describes a dangerous situation occurring with direction to evacuate now, explicitly stating danger.
    24. present: Explicitly states a dangerous situation is occurring and to evacuate now, conveying immediate danger to people.
    25. present: It declares a dangerous situation and urges immediate evacuation, stating the situation is dangerous.

Systematic AI judgments with visible reasoning, not human-validated codings.

About this analysis
Context

Background

Florida International University is a Carnegie R1 public research university in Miami serving roughly 56,000 students, the largest Hispanic-Serving Institution in the United States by enrollment. On the morning of Tuesday, May 2, 2023, FIU was the highest-profile target of a coordinated swatting wave that hit at least five South Florida campuses in a single morning: Florida Atlantic University, Palm Beach Atlantic, Indian River State, Everglades University, and FIU. FIU's alert system pushed an SMS at approximately 9:30 a.m. EDT reading 'A dangerous situation is occurring on or near campus! Evacuate the area NOW.' with a follow-up email naming the College of Nursing in AHC 3. FIU Police cleared the building within roughly 30 minutes. FIU Police Chief Alexander Casas told reporters: 'It is a hoax call and while some may think it's funny, it is not funny at all, it's an incredible drain on resources, first responders are somewhere they don't need to be where they could be doing other things that we should actually be doing.' The case is significant for the archive because (a) it documents the largest-HSI-in-the-country target in a coordinated South Florida swatting wave, (b) the official Twitter post quoted in this case is preserved as confirmed verbatim institutional alert text from a swatting incident, and (c) the SMS-to-email discrepancy (SMS gave no building, email named College of Nursing) drew criticism of FIU's multi-channel alert consistency at the time.
Analysis

Key Findings

FIU is the largest Hispanic-Serving Institution in the US, and the May 2, 2023 swatting was the highest-profile target in a coordinated five-campus South Florida wave
The 88-character initial SMS gave no building location, only a follow-up email cited the College of Nursing in AHC 3, a multi-channel inconsistency that later drew criticism
FIU Police cleared the building within roughly 30 minutes, fast for the largest HSI in the US
FIU's official Twitter update from May 2, 2023 is preserved in this case as confirmed verbatim alert text
FIU Police Chief Alexander Casas publicly characterized the hoax as 'an incredible drain on resources,' an unusually direct institutional statement against swatting
The case is part of a documented 2023 South Florida swatting wave that targeted multiple HSIs and minority-serving institutions in a single morning
Outcome
FIU Police cleared AHC 3 within approximately 30 minutes of the initial alert. No shooter, no victims, no weapon. Normal activities resumed about an hour later. Similar hoax calls hit Florida Atlantic University, Palm Beach Atlantic University, Indian River State College, and Everglades University the same morning. No suspect was publicly identified or arrested in connection with the FIU call at the time of the incident.
Provenance

Sources

  1. News
    Prank active shooter calls leave FIU, other South Florida college campus on edge (CBS Miami)
    cbsnews.com
    archived copy
  2. Social
    @FIU official Twitter post, May 2, 2023, FIU Alert Update
    x.com
    archived copy
  3. News
    False Active Shooter Call at FIU Causes Evacuations, Police Activity (NBC 6 South Florida)
    nbcmiami.com
    archived copy
  4. News
    False active shooter calls lead to evacuations, alerts at several South Florida campuses (WSVN 7News Miami)
    wsvn.com
    archived copy
  5. News
    'Swatting' incidents create scares at FIU, 2 other college campuses (Local 10 Miami)
    local10.com
    archived copy
  6. News
    Multiple hoax active shooter calls reported at South Florida campuses (CBS 12)
    cbs12.com
    archived copy
  7. Official
    Active Threat (FIU Department of Emergency Management)
    dem.fiu.edu
    archived copy
  8. Social
    @FIU X cascade 1653390447501275137
    x.com
    archived copy
Cite this case

Campus Alert Archive. "Florida International University: Swatting call targeting a health sciences building cleared within about 30 minutes." Incident of May 2, 2023. Added May 2026; last updated July 2026. https://campusalertarchive.com/case/fiu-swatting-ahc-3-2023-05-02/

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Alert text quoted on this page remains the work of the issuing institution; the archive is a secondary source.

Tags
swattinghsihispanic-servingfloridafiumiamilargest-hsiahc-3college-of-nursingsouth-florida-waveverbatim-confirmedevacuationHoax
Added May 2026Updated July 2026Via ingestion