Campus Alert Archive
Malone

'Shoot the Place Up': Malone University Locks Down Cleveland Avenue Campus After 8:20 AM Threat Call to Admissions

OHthreat of violenceemergency notificationmedium confidence

On the morning of Monday, February 2, 2026, Malone University in Canton, Ohio issued an emergency shelter-in-place alert at approximately 8:39 a.m. EST after an admissions office employee received a threatening phone call. The caller said their child was being bullied and they would come to campus within ten minutes to 'shoot it up.' Canton Police searched the campus and determined the threat was a hoax. The all-clear was issued just before 9:30 a.m. EST.

Alerts
2
Response
—
Killed
0
Injured
0
Institution
Malone University
Private Liberal Arts · OH
~1,700 studentsMalone Alert
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

2 messages in sequence · 2 verified verbatim

INITIAL ALERTFacebook
Verified verbatimCleveland 19 News and multiple local Ohio outlets quoting Malone University's Facebook post verbatim at 8:39 a.m. EST on February 2, 2026130 chars
THIS IS NOT A DRILL. Campus has placed a shelter in place due to a credible threat. Additional details to come as we receive them.
Verbatim text confirmed from Cleveland 19 News, Fox 8 Cleveland, Yahoo News, and multiple other outlets all quoting the same Facebook post published at 8:39 a.m. EST; the exact text 'THIS IS NOT A DRILL. Campus has placed a shelter in place due to a credible threat. Additional details to come as we receive them.' is confirmed across multiple sources
The all-caps 'THIS IS NOT A DRILL' opening (rather than the usual 'Malone Alert:' prefix) was an unusual choice designed to override skepticism; many campuses use a branded header before the all-caps warning
The 8:39 a.m. EST timing matches all local reports; police were dispatched at 8:20 a.m. to investigate the admissions-office call
ALL CLEARFacebook+49 min
Verified verbatimNews 5 Cleveland, Jordan Miller News, Fox 8, and Hoodline all quoting the verbatim Malone University all-clear Facebook post on February 2, 2026220 chars
You can resume normal activities. Canton Police believe the earlier threat was a hoax. Regardless of this, report anything suspicious to Campus Safety immediately. Canton Police will be patrolling campus as a precaution.
Verbatim text confirmed: multiple Cleveland-area outlets (News 5 Cleveland, Fox 8, Jordan Miller News, Hoodline) consistently quote this exact wording from Malone University's all-clear Facebook post at approximately 9:17-9:28 a.m. EST
The all-clear explicitly used the word 'hoax,' which is unusual; many universities prefer 'unfounded' or 'no credible threat found'
The total shelter-in-place lasted about 49 minutes from the 8:39 a.m. initial alert
Context

Background

On the morning of Monday, February 2, 2026, Malone University — a private Christian liberal-arts institution of about 1,700 students on Cleveland Avenue NW in Canton, Ohio — became the latest target of the 2025-2026 wave of campus active-threat hoaxes. The Canton Police Department was dispatched at approximately 8:20 a.m. EST after an admissions office employee took a call from an unknown person claiming their child attended the school, was being bullied, and that they would arrive on campus in ten minutes to 'shoot it up.' Malone Alert pushed a shelter-in-place notification to the campus community at 8:39 a.m. via Facebook and the university's website. Canton Police and assisting agencies searched the campus and determined that no shooter was present. The all-clear was posted just before 9:30 a.m. — under an hour after the initial alert — with police explicitly labeling the call a 'hoax.' Officers remained on campus for the rest of the day as a precaution. Although smaller than the Villanova or Chattanooga swatting events that drew national attention, the Malone incident illustrates how the 2025-2026 hoax wave reached even small Christian liberal-arts colleges, not just large public universities.
Analysis

Key Findings

The Malone hoax used a particularly elaborate cover story — a parent claiming their bullied child attended the school — rather than the simpler 'active shooter on campus' framing of most 2025 swatting calls
Canton Police's explicit use of the word 'hoax' in the all-clear was unusually direct compared with most universities, which prefer 'unfounded' or 'no credible threat found'
The 49-minute shelter-in-place duration was on the short end for hoax events, reflecting the small physical footprint of Malone's Cleveland Avenue campus and the speed of the Canton Police search
Outcome
Canton Police determined the call was a hoax. The shelter-in-place lasted under an hour. Police remained on campus following the all-clear to continue patrols. No injuries, no suspects on campus, no devices located.
Provenance

Sources

  1. News
    Malone University lifts 'shelter in place' order (Cleveland 19 News)
    cleveland19.com
  2. national media
    Malone University's Shelter-in-Place Lifted After Canton Police Deem Threat a Hoax (Hoodline)
    hoodline.com
  3. News
    'NOT a drill': Malone University issues shelter-in-place alert due to 'credible threat' (News 5 Cleveland)
    news5cleveland.com
  4. News
    Malone University lifts shelter-in-place; Canton police believe threat was a hoax (Canton Repository/Yahoo)
    yahoo.com
  5. News
    Details: Canton Police investigate hoax threat towards Malone University (Jordan Miller News)
    jordanmiller.news
Tags
swattinghoaxprivate-christian-collegeohioshelter-in-placeadmissions-officephone-threatcanton
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion