Campus Alert Archive
UTSA

"Previous Alerts ... Are Not Credible": Two Back-to-Back Swatting Calls Hit UTSA on Second Day of Classes

TXswattingemergency 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 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
3
Response
—
Killed
0
Injured
0
Institution
University of Texas at San Antonio
Public R1 · TX
~34,000 studentsUTSA Alert
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

3 messages in sequence · 1 verified verbatim

Some alert texts below are approximate reconstructions from news coverage, not confirmed verbatim transcripts. Reconstructed texts are shown in italic with a dashed border. Verified verbatim texts have a solid border and are marked accordingly.

INITIAL ALERTSMS
Approximate reconstructionReconstructed from Texas Public Radio quoting UTSA Alert language ('an active/credible threat')182 chars
UTSA Alert: Active/credible threat reported on the Main Campus. UTSA Police are responding. Avoid the Main Building and surrounding area. Take shelter and await further instructions.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Texas Public Radio quoted UTSA's alert as referencing 'an active/credible threat,' an unusual phrasing that telegraphs the university's own uncertainty about credibility
The decision to evacuate on-campus housing rather than just the Main Building suggests UTSA initially treated the two swatting calls as potentially linked to a single threat
Exact alert text reconstructed; UTSA's own public summary refers only to two emergency alerts without quoting the verbatim SMS
UPDATESMS
Approximate reconstruction107 chars
UTSA Alert: Threat reported in campus housing. UTSA Police responding. Shelter in place. Updates to follow.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

UTSA's official explanation confirms that 'two emergency alerts were made to the campus community' as Police responded to each location
The second alert was directed at students in on-campus housing — a separate population from those in or near the Main Building
Reconstructed wording; UTSA did not publish the verbatim text of either SMS
ALL CLEARSMS
Verified verbatimVerbatim @UTSA X/Twitter post (status 1960544961402659202) on August 26, 2025121 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
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
  2. News
    UTSA students evacuated from on-campus housing following hoax threats (Texas Public Radio)
    tpr.org
  3. News
    'Not credible': UTSA issues all-clear after reports of threats on campus (KENS 5)
    kens5.com
  4. News
    Swatting attempts rattle UTSA students as semester begins (CultureMap San Antonio)
    sanantonio.culturemap.com
  5. News
    UTSA students receive all clear regarding threat (KGNS)
    kgns.tv
Tags
swattinghoaxtexassan-antoniocampus-housingmain-buildingpurgatoryfirst-week-of-classestwo-call-pairingHoax
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion