{
  "id": "2023-04-09-boston-university-swatting",
  "slug": "boston-university-swatting-2023-04-09",
  "institution": {
    "name": "Boston University",
    "shortName": "BU",
    "state": "MA",
    "type": "private-r1",
    "alertSystemName": "BU Alert",
    "enrollment": 37000
  },
  "incident": {
    "date": "2023-04-09",
    "type": "swatting",
    "cleryCategory": "emergency-notification",
    "resolution": "confirmed-hoax",
    "headline": "Simultaneous hoax active-shooter calls at opposite ends of campus; no threat found",
    "headlinePublic": "Simultaneous hoax active-shooter calls at opposite ends of campus; no threat found",
    "summary": "On April 9, 2023, [Boston University Police](https://www.boston.com/news/local-news/2023/04/09/swatting-boston-university-hoax-shooting-calls/) received two simultaneous calls reporting active shooters at opposite ends of campus: 855 Commonwealth Avenue (College of Fine Arts) and 233 Bay State Road (admissions office). BUPD issued a [BU Alert at approximately 8:00 PM EDT](https://www.bu.edu/articles/2023/making-sense-of-swatting-hoax-at-boston-university/) and confirmed within 40 minutes there was no threat. Just six days after the Harvard Leverett swatting, BU became part of the rapid April 2023 wave.",
    "outcome": "No injuries occurred. BUPD confirmed no active threat by 8:40 PM EDT and issued an all-clear update before 8:50 PM. The two simultaneous hoax calls at opposite ends of campus suggested deliberate effort to maximize police confusion. The incident was part of the April 4-9, 2023 swatting wave hitting at least 10 universities.",
    "casualties": {
      "killed": 0,
      "injured": 0
    }
  },
  "alerts": [
    {
      "sequence": 1,
      "type": "initial",
      "timestampApprox": "Approximately 8:00 PM EDT on April 9, 2023",
      "channel": "twitter-x",
      "verbatimText": "Two calls for an active shooter have been received by BU Police in the area of 855 Commonwealth Ave and 233 Bay State Road. Nothing has been discovered at this time, but there is a heavy police presence in these areas.",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://www.bu.edu/articles/2023/making-sense-of-swatting-hoax-at-boston-university/",
      "sourceDescription": "BU Today (official) quoting the @BUPolice Twitter/X post verbatim",
      "annotations": [
        "Posted on @BUPolice's official Twitter/X account around 8:00 PM EDT on April 9, 2023, the public-facing channel BU used in parallel with the BU Alert SMS",
        "Notable that the alert says 'Nothing has been discovered at this time' rather than directing students to shelter in place; the language indicates police were still verifying the threat",
        "Names both 855 Commonwealth Avenue (College of Fine Arts) and 233 Bay State Road (admissions office) as the reported shooter locations",
        "The two-location framing forced BUPD to split resources during the initial response",
        "The BU Alert went out around 8:00 PM EDT, shortly after the calls were received"
      ],
      "characterCount": 218
    },
    {
      "sequence": 2,
      "type": "all-clear",
      "timestamp": "2023-04-09T20:48:00-04:00",
      "channel": "sms",
      "verbatimText": "A short time ago, BUPD received several calls for an active shooter situation at multiple locations. Although we are still investigating, at this time we are confident that there is no threat to our community.",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://www.bu.edu/articles/2023/making-sense-of-swatting-hoax-at-boston-university/",
      "sourceDescription": "BU Alert update issued just before 8:50 PM EDT, quoted in BU Today",
      "annotations": [
        "BUPD issued this update just before 8:50 PM EDT, approximately 50 minutes after the initial alert",
        "Note the careful language: 'we are confident that there is no threat' rather than a definitive 'all clear'; BU officials chose hedged language while investigation continued",
        "The update came approximately 50 minutes after the initial alert"
      ],
      "characterCount": 209
    }
  ],
  "context": "On the evening of April 9, 2023 (Easter Sunday) [Boston University Police](https://www.boston.com/news/local-news/2023/04/09/swatting-boston-university-hoax-shooting-calls/) received two simultaneous calls reporting active shooters at opposite ends of the Charles River campus. One call reported a shooter at 855 Commonwealth Avenue, where the [College of Fine Arts](https://www.bu.edu/cfa/about/contact-directions/) is located. The other reported a shooter at 233 Bay State Road, the admissions office. BUPD issued a [BU Alert around 8:00 PM EDT](https://www.bu.edu/articles/2023/making-sense-of-swatting-hoax-at-boston-university/) and dispatched officers to both locations. Within 40 minutes, BU was confident there was no threat, and just before 8:50 PM EDT, the university issued an update with carefully hedged language: 'although we are still investigating, at this time we are confident that there is no threat to our community.' The incident was part of the [April 4-9 wave](https://universalhub.com/2023/boston-university-swatted-call-about-active) that hit at least 10 universities (Clemson, the University of Florida, Boston University, Harvard, Cornell, the University of Pittsburgh, Rutgers, the University of Oklahoma, Wake Forest, and Middlebury) in a single week. About 50 minutes elapsed from the initial alert to the no-threat update. The two-location nature of the calls foreshadowed the [tactic Purgatory swatters would use in August 2025](https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2025/08/27/swatting-hoaxes-us-colleges/), multiple coordinated calls designed to maximize police confusion.",
  "keyFindings": [
    "BU's two simultaneous calls at opposite ends of campus represented a more sophisticated swatting tactic than single-location hoaxes",
    "BUPD confirmed no threat within about 40 minutes and issued its update approximately 50 minutes after the initial alert",
    "BU used carefully hedged language ('we are confident there is no threat') rather than a definitive all-clear",
    "The College of Fine Arts and admissions office are public-facing buildings on opposite ends of campus",
    "The incident happened on Easter Sunday evening, when the campus population was reduced"
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "title": "Making Sense of 'Swatting' Hoax That Hit BU Sunday Night (BU Today)",
      "url": "https://www.bu.edu/articles/2023/making-sense-of-swatting-hoax-at-boston-university/",
      "type": "official-archive"
    },
    {
      "title": "Hoax shooting calls reported at Boston University (Boston.com)",
      "url": "https://www.boston.com/news/local-news/2023/04/09/swatting-boston-university-hoax-shooting-calls/",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "BUPD responds to hoax shooting at spots on campus (Daily Free Press)",
      "url": "https://dailyfreepress.com/2023/04/11/bupd-responds-to-hoax-shooting-at-spots-on-campus/",
      "type": "student-newspaper"
    },
    {
      "title": "Boston University swatted with call about 'active shooter' (Universal Hub)",
      "url": "https://universalhub.com/2023/boston-university-swatted-call-about-active",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "Wave of swatting incidents has college students on edge (NBC Boston)",
      "url": "https://www.nbcboston.com/news/local/swatting-hoax-calls-colleges-universities/3807996/",
      "type": "local-media"
    }
  ],
  "confidence": "high",
  "tags": [
    "swatting",
    "boston-university",
    "massachusetts",
    "april-2023-swatting-wave",
    "two-location-hoax",
    "commonwealth-avenue",
    "college-of-fine-arts",
    "private-r1",
    "easter-sunday",
    "fast-response"
  ],
  "dateAdded": "2026-05-03",
  "lastUpdated": "2026-07-16",
  "addedBy": "ingestion"
}