{
  "id": "2025-11-10-bowling-green-state-university-swatting",
  "slug": "bowling-green-state-university-swatting-2025-11-10",
  "institution": {
    "name": "Bowling Green State University",
    "shortName": "BGSU",
    "state": "OH",
    "type": "public-r2",
    "alertSystemName": "AlertBG",
    "enrollment": 20000
  },
  "incident": {
    "date": "2025-11-10",
    "type": "swatting",
    "cleryCategory": "emergency-notification",
    "resolution": "confirmed-hoax",
    "headline": "Hoax call claiming a library shooter; two sweeps found no threat",
    "headlinePublic": "Hoax call claiming a library shooter; two sweeps found no threat",
    "summary": "At [9:53 AM EST on November 10, 2025](https://bgfalconmedia.com/174930/news/campus/bgsus-swatting-call-what-went-wrong/), the City of Bowling Green Police Division received an anonymous call to a non-emergency line claiming an active shooter was inside Jerome Library at Bowling Green State University. BGSU Police responded, swept the building twice, and found no threat. The university's [first AlertBG message did not reach students until 11:14 AM EST](https://www.13abc.com/2025/11/10/false-alarm-authorities-determine-no-immediate-threat-bgsu-library/), 81 minutes after the call and after the all-clear had already been declared. The incident was determined to be a swatting hoax and BGSU's first.",
    "outcome": "No injuries occurred. BGSU Police, Bowling Green Police Division, and Wood County Sheriff's deputies conducted two full sweeps of Jerome Library, confirming no shooter, no firearm, and no signs of an active threat. The call was determined to be a swatting hoax. BGSU faced significant student criticism over the 81-minute delay between the call and the first AlertBG notification."
  },
  "alerts": [
    {
      "sequence": 1,
      "type": "all-clear",
      "timestamp": "2025-11-10T11:14:00-05:00",
      "channel": "sms",
      "verbatimText": "All clear: BGSUPD responded to an anonymous call of threat at the library, received by City of Bowling Green. BGSUPD has determined no immediate threat. More information to be shared in email.",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://bgfalconmedia.com/174930/news/campus/bgsus-swatting-call-what-went-wrong/",
      "sourceDescription": "BG Falcon Media (student newspaper) quoting full AlertBG SMS: 'The alert read, ...'",
      "annotations": [
        "This 'all clear' was actually the first AlertBG notification students received, sent 81 minutes after the 9:53 AM EST call to the Bowling Green Police Division",
        "The decision to skip an initial alert and only send an all-clear is highly unusual and drew significant criticism from BGSU students and Falcon Media editorials",
        "The phrase 'received by City of Bowling Green' is unusual jurisdictional attribution; it clarifies that the call did not come through BGSU's own dispatch line"
      ],
      "characterCount": 192
    },
    {
      "sequence": 2,
      "type": "follow-up",
      "timestampApprox": "Approximately 11:28 AM EST on November 10, 2025",
      "channel": "email",
      "verbatimText": "",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": false,
      "sourceDescription": "Reconstructed from BG Falcon Media and 13abc reporting which paraphrased the BGSU follow-up email about the cleared library and ongoing investigation",
      "annotations": []
    }
  ],
  "context": "Bowling Green State University is a [public R2 doctoral university](https://www.bgsu.edu/about-bgsu.html) in Bowling Green, Ohio, with about 20,000 students. On the morning of Monday, November 10, 2025, at 9:53 AM EST, the [City of Bowling Green Police Division received an anonymous call to a non-emergency line](https://bgfalconmedia.com/174930/news/campus/bgsus-swatting-call-what-went-wrong/) claiming an active shooter was inside Jerome Library, BGSU's main academic library. The dispatcher flagged the call as potentially false but, [out of an abundance of caution](https://www.wtol.com/article/news/local/bowling-green-state-university-bgsu-library-threat-non-legitimate-police-say/512-45240620-1673-4ea7-93d3-6a02c258b2fc), BGSU Police, city officers, and Wood County deputies responded. Officers conducted two full sweeps of the library, talked with people on scene who reported nothing unusual, and declared an all-clear. The first AlertBG text message reached students at 11:14 AM EST, [81 minutes after the call](https://www.13abc.com/2025/11/10/false-alarm-authorities-determine-no-immediate-threat-bgsu-library/) and after the police all-clear had already been issued. An email followed at 11:28 AM EST and a final email at 4:46 PM EST. The incident was [BGSU's first swatting call](https://bgindependentmedia.org/anonymous-threat-made-on-bgsu-campus-determined-to-be-false-alarm/), and the delayed notification drew sharp criticism from students and Falcon Media. The same morning, [Eastern Illinois University received a parallel anonymous armed-person call](https://www.dailyeasternnews.com/2025/11/10/eiu-police-responds-to-report-of-armed-individual-determines-it-was-unfounded/), but EIU sent its first alert in about 5 minutes, roughly 76 minutes sooner.",
  "keyFindings": [
    "BGSU's first AlertBG notification arrived 81 minutes after the call to police",
    "The first message students received was an 'all-clear' rather than an 'initial' alert, an unusual sequence that left students learning about the threat from rumors rather than the university",
    "On the same morning, Eastern Illinois University received a parallel anonymous threat call and sent its first alert in about 5 minutes",
    "BGSU followed the SMS all-clear with emails at 11:28 AM and 4:46 PM EST, a multi-message sequence spanning about six hours"
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "title": "BGSU's swatting call: What went wrong? (BG Falcon Media)",
      "url": "https://bgfalconmedia.com/174930/news/campus/bgsus-swatting-call-what-went-wrong/",
      "type": "student-newspaper"
    },
    {
      "title": "BREAKING: BGSUPD responds to threat at Jerome Library (BG Falcon Media)",
      "url": "https://bgfalconmedia.com/174123/news/campus/bgsupd-responds-to-threat-at-jerome-library/",
      "type": "student-newspaper"
    },
    {
      "title": "'False alarm': Authorities determine 'no immediate threat' at BGSU library (13abc)",
      "url": "https://www.13abc.com/2025/11/10/false-alarm-authorities-determine-no-immediate-threat-bgsu-library/",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "BGSU receives swatting call for active shooter (Sentinel-Tribune)",
      "url": "https://www.sent-trib.com/2025/11/10/bgsu-receives-swatting-call-for-active-shooter/",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "'No immediate threat' on BGSU campus after anonymous call (WTOL)",
      "url": "https://www.wtol.com/article/news/local/bowling-green-state-university-bgsu-library-threat-non-legitimate-police-say/512-45240620-1673-4ea7-93d3-6a02c258b2fc",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "Anonymous threat made on BGSU campus; determined to be false alarm (BG Independent News)",
      "url": "https://bgindependentmedia.org/anonymous-threat-made-on-bgsu-campus-determined-to-be-false-alarm/",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "AlertBG (BGSU Public Safety)",
      "url": "https://www.bgsu.edu/public-safety/bgsu-emergency-management-and-response/alertbg.html",
      "type": "official-archive"
    }
  ],
  "confidence": "high",
  "tags": [
    "swatting",
    "false-alarm",
    "ohio",
    "public-r2",
    "alertbg",
    "notification-timing",
    "delayed-notification",
    "library-target",
    "verbatim"
  ],
  "dateAdded": "2026-05-03",
  "lastUpdated": "2026-07-18",
  "addedBy": "ingestion"
}