Campus Alert Archive
Iowa

Man Making Knife Threats Near Van Allen Hall Prompts 11-Minute Hawk Alert Response

IAarmed personemergency notificationhigh confidence
Confirmed Threat

On April 4, 2024, at 9:31 AM CDT, Iowa City and UI Police responded to a report of a man carrying a knife near North Dubuque and Jefferson Streets. A Hawk Alert was issued at 9:42 AM directing the community to avoid the area. An arrest was later made. The incident prompted a Daily Iowan feature on how Hawk Alert decisions are made.

Alerts
2
Response
—
Killed
—
Injured
—
Institution
University of Iowa
Public R1 · IA
~31,000 studentsHawk Alert
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

2 messages in sequence · 2 verified verbatim

INITIAL ALERTSMS
Verified verbatimUniversity of Iowa Emergency Updates Archive152 chars
HAWK ALERT: Male subject making threats with a knife wearing jeans and a dark jacket last seen near Van Allen, avoid the area. More: emergency.uiowa.edu
Sent at 9:42 AM CDT on April 4, 2024, approximately 11 minutes after police were dispatched at 9:31 AM
Van Allen Hall houses the Department of Physics and Astronomy, located on the east side of the Pentacrest
The incident prompted a Daily Iowan feature on how UI officials decide what goes into a Hawk Alert
ALL CLEARSMS+53 min
Verified verbatimUniversity of Iowa Emergency Updates Archive — verbatim Hawk Alert text embedded in the official archive page URL147 chars
HAWK ALERT: Iowa City Police continue to investigate. Resume normal activity and stay aware of your surroundings. See emergency.uiowa.edu for more.
Sent at approximately 10:35 AM CDT on April 4, 2024, about 53 minutes after the initial alert
The message does not declare an explicit arrest or capture but instructs the community to resume normal activity — a qualified all-clear that acknowledges the investigation is ongoing
Iowa City Police (not UIPD) led the investigation, explaining the message's explicit attribution to ICPD rather than UI Police
Context

Background

On April 4, 2024, the University of Iowa issued a Hawk Alert at 9:42 AM CDT after police responded to a report of a man making threats with a knife near Van Allen Hall. The Daily Iowan reported that Iowa City and UI Police were dispatched at 9:31 AM to the intersection of North Dubuque and Jefferson Streets. KCRG covered the police search. An arrest was made in May 2024, with UI Police confirming the connection to the April 4 incident. The incident prompted the Daily Iowan to publish a feature examining how UI officials decide what information goes into a Hawk Alert — a rare look into the alert drafting process.
Analysis

Key Findings

The verbatim Hawk Alert text is preserved in the University of Iowa's official emergency archive, with the alert text visible in the page URL
The 11-minute response time from police dispatch (9:31 AM) to Hawk Alert (9:42 AM) represents a relatively rapid alert
The incident prompted a Daily Iowan feature examining how Hawk Alert decisions are made — valuable journalism about the alert process
Outcome
An arrest was made in connection with the April 4 Hawk Alert. UI Police confirmed the arrest in May 2024.
Provenance

Sources

  1. Official
    HAWK ALERT: Male subject making threats with knife near Van Allen (UI Emergency Updates)
    emergency.uiowa.edu
  2. Student Paper
    Police report man making knife threats near Van Allen Hall (Daily Iowan)
    dailyiowan.com
  3. Official
    Arrest made following April 4 Hawk Alert (UI Police)
    police.uiowa.edu
  4. Student Paper
    How UI officials decide what goes into a Hawk Alert (Daily Iowan)
    dailyiowan.com
  5. News
    Hawk Alert: Police search for suspect armed with knife (KCRG)
    kcrg.com
Tags
armed-personknife-threathawk-alertiowaverbatim-alertarrest-madealert-process-journalism
Added April 2026Updated April 2026Via ingestion