Campus Alert Archive
UTSA

Two swatting calls in rapid succession on the second day of classes; both unfounded

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TXswattingemergency notificationhigh confidence
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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 the night of Tuesday, August 26, 2025 (the second day of the fall semester) the University of Texas at San Antonio was targeted by two swatting calls in rapid succession. The first reported an incident at the Main Building; the second reported a threat in campus housing. UTSA Police evacuated affected areas and issued emergency alerts. A second, contradictory all-clear alert was issued 19 minutes later after both calls were determined to be unfounded. The incident occurred at the peak of the August 2025 "Purgatory" swatting wave that targeted dozens of US campuses.

Alerts
4
Response
—
Killed
0
Injured
0
Institution
University of Texas at San Antonio
Public R1 · TX
All UTSA cases →
~34,000 studentsUTSA Alert
Documented Timeline

Alert Sequence

4 messages in sequence · 2 verified verbatim

Some messages in this sequence are documented (their existence, timing, and channel are sourced) but their exact wording is not preserved in the public record. Those entries appear as placeholders; only confirmed text is displayed.

UPDATESMS
Wording not preserved
A update message is documented at this point in the sequence, but its exact wording is not preserved in the public record. The public edition displays only confirmed alert text.
ALL CLEARTwitter/X
Verified verbatim@UTSA on X (verbatim)121 chars
Previous alerts of incidents on campus are not credible. Police presence increased as precaution. Resume normal activity.
Texas Public Radio quoted this message verbatim and specified it was sent 'nineteen minutes after that alert went out to students'
Calling earlier alerts 'not credible' in the same channel that sent the warnings is unusual, most universities issue separate 'all-clear' messages without re-characterizing the original alert
The 19-minute turnaround is fast for a swatting all-clear, likely because UTSA Police were already on-scene at both reported locations within minutes
This same @UTSA all-clear post also appears in the archive's companion case on the housing evacuation (2025-08-26-utsa-swatting-housing-evacuation), which documents the same morning's events; one message resolved both reported incidents
Corrected to exact fxtwitter display text.
UPDATETwitter/X
Verified verbatim@UTSA on X (verbatim same-night update)421 chars
UTSA Update: Earlier tonight, the university received two reports of threats against the campus. UTSA Police responded to both reports and, out of an abundance of caution, issued alerts to the campus community. Local law enforcement partners also responded. Upon investigation, both incidents were determined to be unfounded. Police will continue to maintain an enhanced presence on campus. Normal activities can resume.
Official same-night @UTSA cascade ~15 minutes after short all-clear; full narrative of two unfounded threat reports.
Snowflake 1960548657968648193 → 2025-08-27T03:43:19Z (CDT evening Aug 26).
Context

Background

On Tuesday evening, August 26, 2025 (the second day of the fall semester) UTSA was hit by two swatting calls in rapid succession. The first call reported an incident at the Main Building on the Main Campus; the second reported a threat in campus housing. UTSA Police responded to both locations and issued emergency alerts to the campus community describing 'an active/credible threat.' Students were briefly evacuated from on-campus housing as the university investigated. Nineteen minutes after the initial alert, UTSA sent a second message: "Previous alerts of incidents on campus are not credible. Police presence increased as precaution. Resume normal activity." Both incidents were determined to be unfounded; UTSA leadership later said that 'as UTSA Police responded to these locations, two emergency alerts were made to the campus community.' Law enforcement maintained an 'enhanced presence' on campus afterward. The incident was part of the broader August 2025 swatting wave that targeted at least 22 US universities (many tied to the online group Purgatory) during the first two weeks of the academic year.
Analysis

Key Findings

UTSA's 19-minute resolution is among the fastest in the August 2025 swatting wave, reflecting both rapid on-scene response and growing pattern recognition by university police departments
The pairing of a swatting call against the Main Building with a second call against campus housing is unusual, most hoaxes target a single building type, but a few campuses (e.g., NDSU, USC) saw similar two-location pairings
Calling the earlier alerts 'not credible' in the same SMS channel that broadcast them was a notably transparent communications choice, in contrast to universities that issued generic all-clears without acknowledging the false alarm
Outcome
Both swatting calls were determined to be unfounded. UTSA Police, San Antonio Police, and Bexar County Sheriff's deputies maintained an 'enhanced presence' on campus following the incident. No injuries, no weapons, and no shooter were found. The university subsequently increased police presence as a precaution. The incidents are believed to be part of the same nationwide swatting campaign that hit Auburn, Mercer, Texas Tech, NDSU, UGA, and other campuses that week.
Provenance

Sources

  1. Official
    UTSA updates campus community on Tuesday night emergency alerts (UTSA Today)
    utsa.edu
    archived copy
  2. News
    UTSA students evacuated from on-campus housing following hoax threats (Texas Public Radio)
    tpr.org
    archived copy
  3. News
    'Not credible': UTSA issues all-clear after reports of threats on campus (KENS 5)
    kens5.com
    archived copy
  4. News
    Swatting attempts rattle UTSA students as semester begins (CultureMap San Antonio)
    sanantonio.culturemap.com
    archived copy
  5. News
    UTSA students receive all clear regarding threat (KGNS)
    kgns.tv
    archived copy
  6. Official
    @UTSA on X
    x.com
    archived copy
  7. Social
    @UTSA same-night update (X)
    x.com
    archived copy
Cite this case

Campus Alert Archive. "University of Texas at San Antonio: Two swatting calls in rapid succession on the second day of classes; both unfounded." Incident of August 26, 2025. Added May 2026; last updated July 2026. https://campusalertarchive.com/case/utsa-swatting-2025-08-26/

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Alert text quoted on this page remains the work of the issuing institution; the archive is a secondary source.

Tags
swattinghoaxtexassan-antoniocampus-housingmain-buildingpurgatoryfirst-week-of-classestwo-call-pairingHoax
Added May 2026Updated July 2026Via ingestion