Campus Alert Archive
Penn College

A 20-Minute Shelter-in-Place at Penn College After a 'Keystone Dining' Active-Shooter Hoax

PAswattingemergency notificationhigh confidence
Confirmed HoaxDetermined to be a hoax. The institutional response is documented because it reveals how the alert system performed under a perceived real threat.

At approximately 8:40 AM EDT on March 23, 2026, Pennsylvania College of Technology in Williamsport received a 911 call reporting an active shooter in the Keystone Dining Hall. The college issued a shelter-in-place order while police searched the building. About 20 minutes later, around 8:59 AM EDT, the shelter-in-place was lifted after officers found no threat. The college confirmed the call was a swatting hoax and canceled classes for the remainder of the day.

Alerts
1
Response
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Killed
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Injured
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Institution
Pennsylvania College of Technology
Technical College · PA
~4,500 studentsPenn College Alert
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

1 message in sequence · 1 verified verbatim

FOLLOW-UPEmail
Verified verbatimPennsylvania College of Technology official news release297 chars
Pennsylvania College of Technology received a call this morning, March 23, of an active shooter in the Keystone Dining Hall. The safety of our community is our highest priority. The College police and emergency personnel responded quickly. We immediately locked down campus and sheltered in place.
Verbatim text from the official Pennsylvania College of Technology statement published at pct.edu on March 23, 2026
The Keystone Dining Hall is a high-traffic central food-service location at Penn College, making it a common target for swatting calls seeking maximum disruption
The shelter-in-place was lifted approximately 19 minutes after the initial call — a notably fast resolution that contrasts with longer 2023 swatting responses at peer institutions
Context

Background

Pennsylvania College of Technology is a special-mission affiliate of Penn State located in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, with about 4,500 students focused on applied technology and skilled trades. On the morning of Monday, March 23, 2026, at approximately 8:40 AM EDT, college officials received a 911 call reporting an active shooter in the Keystone Dining Room, a central campus food-service venue. Penn College Public Safety pushed a shelter-in-place alert, and Pennsylvania State Police, Williamsport Bureau of Police, and campus officers swept the building. They found no shooter, no firearm, and no signs of an active threat. The college lifted the shelter-in-place at approximately 8:59 AM EDT, about 20 minutes after the initial call, and confirmed that the campus had been the target of a swatting hoax. Classes were canceled for the day, but campus remained open. The Penn College incident occurred seven months after the August 2025 wave of campus swatting calls linked to the cybercrime group 'Purgatory' that had triggered alerts at Villanova, UTC, Iowa State, Texas Tech, and dozens of other institutions, suggesting that the 2025-26 academic year saw the swatting trend continue into the spring semester at smaller technical and regional schools.
Analysis

Key Findings

The shelter-in-place was lifted in approximately 19 minutes — a notably fast response compared to the 82-minute delay that triggered student protests at the University of Pittsburgh in 2023
The Keystone Dining Room target reflects swatters' preference for high-traffic central campus locations to maximize community panic
Pennsylvania College of Technology is a technical college, illustrating how the swatting wave that began at flagship R1 universities in August 2025 has spread to smaller institutions
The decision to cancel classes while keeping campus open is an unusual middle-ground response that prioritizes commuter-student safety while limiting disruption
Outcome
No injuries occurred. Pennsylvania State Police, Williamsport Bureau of Police, and Penn College Public Safety swept the campus and found no shooter, no firearm, and no signs of an active threat. The 911 call was identified as a swatting incident and was placed under criminal investigation. The campus reopened, but classes were canceled for the day.
Provenance

Sources

  1. Official
    Penn College 'swatting' incident (Pennsylvania College of Technology)
    pct.edu
  2. News
    Swatting incident prompts lockdown at Penn College in Williamsport (WNEP)
    wnep.com
  3. News
    UPDATE Swatting incident leads to temporary lockdown at Penn College; classes canceled (Daily Item)
    dailyitem.com
  4. News
    Penn College: 'No threat' found after swatting call (Northcentralpa.com)
    northcentralpa.com
  5. News
    Shelter-in-place order briefly issued at Penn College of Technology (Fox 56)
    fox56.com
  6. News
    Swatting Hoax Triggers Lockdown at Penn College (News Radio 1400 WRAK)
    wrak.iheart.com
Tags
swattingfalse-alarmtechnical-collegepennsylvaniashelter-in-placerapid-resolutionpurgatory-wavediversity-priorityHoax
Added May 2026Updated June 2026Via ingestion