Campus Alert Archive
HPU

Aloha Tower Whoops: HPU Pushes 'Active Shooter' Alert by Mistake on a Severe-Weather Sunday

HIothertestmedium confidence
UnfoundedNo evidence of an actual threat was found. The institutional response is documented because the alert communication is identical to what would occur during a real incident.

On Sunday, February 9, 2026, Hawaii Pacific University accidentally pushed an active-shooter lockdown alert to its downtown Honolulu campus community. The error coincided with a separate severe-weather emergency briefing being held by Governor Josh Green. HPU's director of security and safety confirmed within minutes that there was never any threat.

Alerts
2
Response
—
Killed
0
Injured
0
Institution
Hawaii Pacific University
Private Masters · HI
~4,500 studentsRaveHPU 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 ALERTSMS
Approximate reconstruction141 chars
HPU ALERT: Active shooter on campus. Lockdown in place. Run, hide, fight. Lock doors and barricade. Stay away from windows. Call 911 if safe.

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

Sent in error by HPU on Sunday, February 9, 2026 to the Aloha Tower-area downtown Honolulu campus community
HPU's director of security and safety later confirmed there was never any threat and the message was sent accidentally
Incident occurred on the same day that Governor Josh Green and emergency officials were addressing severe weather conditions, briefly compounding public confusion
CORRECTIONSMS
Approximate reconstruction149 chars
HPU ALERT: The previous active shooter message was sent in error. There is NO threat to campus. There is no lockdown. We apologize for the confusion.

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

Issued shortly after the erroneous initial alert to correct the false active-shooter message
HPU's director of security and safety publicly confirmed the alert was a mistake and that no threat existed
The incident triggered an internal review of how HPU's Rave Alert templates can be inadvertently triggered
Context

Background

On Sunday, February 9, 2026, Hawaii Pacific University accidentally sent an active-shooter lockdown alert to its downtown Honolulu campus community. HPU operates from the historic Aloha Tower Marketplace and downtown buildings, so the geographic ambiguity of the alert briefly drew attention from the city's downtown core. HPU's director of security and safety publicly confirmed within minutes that the message had been sent in error and that there was no active threat at any HPU location. The accidental alert hit phones on the same afternoon that Governor Josh Green and state emergency officials were briefing the public on severe weather conditions, compounding momentary confusion across O'ahu. The incident is the second high-profile false-alarm push notification in recent Hawaii history, following the 2018 false ballistic missile alert that hit phones statewide. HPU said it would review its Rave Alert workflows.
Analysis

Key Findings

HPU's accidental active-shooter push notification was corrected within minutes, but reached the entire downtown Honolulu campus community
The error landed on the same afternoon that state emergency officials were addressing severe weather, briefly compounding public uncertainty
The incident is part of a recurring Hawaii pattern of accidental emergency push notifications dating back to the 2018 false missile alert
Outcome
HPU public safety issued a correction within minutes confirming the alert was sent in error and there was no active shooter or lockdown. The university apologized and said it was reviewing how the test alert was triggered.
Provenance

Sources

  1. News
    HPU says active shooter alert sent by mistake (Hawaii News Now)
    hawaiinewsnow.com
  2. Official
    Hawaii Pacific University System Status — Incident 33
    status.hpu.edu
  3. News
    Governor, emergency officials to address severe weather conditions (Hawaii News Now)
    hawaiinewsnow.com
  4. Official
    Emergency Information and Procedures (HPU Student Handbook)
    studenthandbook.hpu.edu
Tags
false-alarmaccidental-alerthawaiihonoluluprivate-universityrave-alertsystem-errorUnfounded
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion