Campus Alert Archive
Pitt

Purgatory Swatting Group Targets Pitt Law School With Fabricated AR-15 Report

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.

On August 28, 2024, a hoax caller reported a person with an AR-style rifle at the Barco Law Building on the University of Pittsburgh campus. Pitt ENS issued an alert at 12:28 PM EDT, and police cleared the building within 21 minutes. The incident was part of a nationwide wave of swatting attacks linked to the cybercriminal group Purgatory.

Alerts
2
Response
—
Killed
0
Injured
0
Institution
University of Pittsburgh
Public R1 · PA
~34,000 studentsEmergency Notification Service (ENS)
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

2 messages in sequence · 2 verified verbatim

INITIAL ALERTSMS
Verified verbatimPitt Police official Facebook post of Pitt ENS alert114 chars
Pitt E.N.S. Alert: UPPD and City police on scene at Barco Law School for an unconfirmed report of an armed person.
Verbatim text from the Pitt Police Facebook archive of the ENS alert
The alert was sent at 12:28 PM EDT, approximately 8 minutes after the initial 911 call was received by Pittsburgh police
Students were evacuated from the building by law enforcement officers around 12:45 PM EDT
ALL CLEARSMS+21 min
Verified verbatimFox43/WPXI quotation of Pitt ENS all-clear alert87 chars
Police have cleared the Barco Law Building. No credible threat. Resume normal activity.
Verbatim text from the all-clear ENS alert posted at 12:49 PM EDT
The all-clear came just 21 minutes after the initial alert, a significant improvement over Pitt's 82-minute response during the April 2023 Hillman Library swatting incident
Police confirmed no weapon was found and no shots had been fired
Context

Background

On August 28, 2024, Pittsburgh police received a call from someone claiming to be hiding in a closet at the Barco Law Building on Pitt's campus, reporting a person with an AR-style rifle and claiming to hear gunfire. Pitt ENS issued an alert at 12:28 PM EDT, approximately 8 minutes after the first report. University of Pittsburgh Police and City of Pittsburgh police responded immediately, and students were evacuated from the building around 12:45 PM EDT. By 12:49 PM, police had cleared the building and confirmed no credible threat. The incident was part of a nationwide wave of swatting attacks that began on August 21 at Villanova University and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. A report by the Center for Internet Security and the Institute for Strategic Dialogue attributed the attacks to the cybercriminal group Purgatory, which used Google Voice services and played gunshot sounds during calls. Pitt's 21-minute response from alert to all-clear represented a marked improvement over the university's widely criticized 82-minute notification delay during a similar swatting incident at Hillman Library in April 2023.
Analysis

Key Findings

Pitt's 21-minute alert-to-all-clear response was a major improvement over the 82-minute delay during the April 2023 Hillman Library swatting incident
The incident was attributed to the Purgatory swatting group, which targeted at least 10 U.S. universities in one week
The hoax caller fabricated detailed claims, including hiding in a closet, an AR-style rifle, and gunfire sounds
Outcome
Police determined the report was not credible within approximately 20 minutes. No weapon, no shooter, no injuries found. The incident was linked to the Purgatory swatting group, which targeted at least 10 U.S. universities between August 21 and 28, 2024.
Provenance

Sources

  1. Student Paper
    Police respond to unconfirmed reports of an armed person at Barco Law School (The Pitt News)
    pittnews.com
  2. Official
    Hoax call about shooter at law school among several at U.S. universities (University Times)
    utimes.pitt.edu
  3. Official
    Pitt Police Facebook archive of August 28, 2024 ENS Alert
    facebook.com
  4. News
    University of Pittsburgh: 'No credible threat' after alert (Fox 43)
    fox43.com
  5. News
    Multiple colleges experience shooting hoaxes (Washington Examiner)
    washingtonexaminer.com
Tags
swattingpennsylvaniapurgatory-grouphoaxlaw-schoolimproved-responsepublic-universityHoax
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion