{ "id": "2023-05-02-fiu-swatting-ahc-3", "slug": "fiu-swatting-ahc-3-2023-05-02", "institution": { "name": "Florida International University", "shortName": "FIU", "state": "FL", "type": "public-r1", "alertSystemName": "FIU Alert", "enrollment": 56000 }, "incident": { "date": "2023-05-02", "type": "swatting", "cleryCategory": "emergency-notification", "headline": "Swatting call targeting a health sciences building cleared within about 30 minutes", "headlinePublic": "Swatting call targeting a health sciences building cleared within about 30 minutes", "summary": "On the morning of Tuesday, May 2, 2023, [Florida International University, the largest Hispanic-Serving Institution in the United States](https://www.cbsnews.com/miami/news/fiu-says-no-danger-found-after-report-of-active-shooter-on-campus/), was the highest-profile target of a coordinated swatting wave that hit at least five South Florida campuses in a single morning. FIU's alert system pushed an SMS reading 'A dangerous situation is occurring on or near campus! Evacuate the area NOW.' for AHC 3 (the Academic Health Center / College of Nursing) on the MMC main campus. Within roughly 30 minutes, [FIU Police had cleared the building](https://x.com/FIU/status/1653393956837662726) and posted publicly that the call appeared to be false. FIU Police Chief Alexander Casas called the hoax 'an incredible drain on resources.'", "outcome": "FIU Police cleared AHC 3 within approximately 30 minutes of the initial alert. No shooter, no victims, no weapon. Normal activities resumed about an hour later. Similar hoax calls hit Florida Atlantic University, Palm Beach Atlantic University, Indian River State College, and Everglades University the same morning. No suspect was publicly identified or arrested in connection with the FIU call at the time of the incident.", "resolution": "confirmed-hoax", "casualties": { "killed": 0, "injured": 0 } }, "alerts": [ { "sequence": 1, "type": "initial", "timestampApprox": "Approximately 9:30 a.m. EDT on May 2, 2023", "channel": "sms", "verbatimText": "MMC Campus: A dangerous situation is occurring on or near campus! Evacuate the area NOW.", "isVerbatimConfirmed": true, "sourceUrl": "https://wsvn.com/news/local/miami-dade/all-clear-given-following-dangerous-situation-at-fius-mmc-campus/", "sourceDescription": "WSVN 7News Miami quoted the FIU Alert SMS verbatim; also documented in Patch and Yahoo coverage of the May 2, 2023 incident", "annotations": [ "The 88-character SMS used FIU's standard 'dangerous situation' language template, deliberately vague on threat type to keep the message short, but prefixed with 'MMC Campus:' to scope the alert to the Modesto A. Maidique Campus in Miami", "The SMS named no specific building, but a separate FIU Alert email reportedly cited 'possible shots fired at the College of Nursing building,' a discrepancy that students later criticized", "Sent at approximately 9:30 a.m. EDT to FIU Alert subscribers, including students, faculty, and staff at the Modesto A. Maidique Campus (MMC) in Miami", "The capitalized 'NOW' and the exclamation mark are preserved exactly as in the original WSVN-quoted alert" ], "characterCount": 88 }, { "sequence": 2, "type": "update", "timestampApprox": "Approximately 30 minutes after the initial alert on May 2, 2023, EDT", "channel": "twitter-x", "verbatimText": "FIU Alert Update: This morning @FIUPOLICE received reports of an active shooter in AHC 3. Officers have cleared the building and are now conducting a methodical search.\nThere is no danger to anyone on campus.\nThe call appears to be false.", "isVerbatimConfirmed": true, "sourceUrl": "https://x.com/FIU/status/1653393956837662726", "sourceDescription": "@FIU on X (verbatim raw t.co)", "annotations": [ "Posted approximately 30 minutes after the initial SMS, a fast public clearance for a swatting incident at a campus the size of FIU", "The tweet specifically named AHC 3 (the building), finally giving the building-specific information that the initial SMS had omitted", "The phrasing 'methodical search' is notable; the language signaled that even after clearing the building, FIU PD was continuing a careful sweep rather than declaring full all-clear", "The phrase 'the call appears to be false' was deliberately tentative, preserving the option to revise if something was found later" ], "characterCount": 238 }, { "sequence": 3, "type": "all-clear", "timestampApprox": "Approximately one hour after the initial alert on May 2, 2023, EDT", "channel": "sms", "verbatimText": "MMC Campus: All Clear. All Clear. Resume normal activities.", "isVerbatimConfirmed": true, "sourceUrl": "https://wsvn.com/news/local/miami-dade/all-clear-given-following-dangerous-situation-at-fius-mmc-campus/", "sourceDescription": "WSVN 7News Miami documented the FIU Alert all-clear SMS verbatim, title 'All-clear given following dangerous situation at FIU's MMC campus'", "annotations": [ "All-clear came roughly one hour after the initial alert, fast for a building-by-building search at the largest HSI in the country", "The doubled 'All Clear. All Clear.' is FIU's standard SMS template construction, the repetition is a deliberate Clery-style emphasis preserved verbatim", "Notably terse (only 59 characters) and does not name AHC 3 or use the word 'hoax', leaving the operational characterization to FIU Police Chief Alexander Casas's separate verbal statement to reporters" ], "characterCount": 59 }, { "sequence": 4, "type": "update", "timestamp": "2023-05-02T09:26:15-04:00", "channel": "twitter-x", "verbatimText": "F I U ALERT! MMC Campus: A dangerous situation is occurring on or near campus! Evacuate the area NOW.\nThe activities on the east side of campus are isolated at this time. The west side of campus continues as normal.", "isVerbatimConfirmed": true, "sourceUrl": "https://x.com/FIU/status/1653390447501275137", "sourceDescription": "@FIU on X (verbatim)", "annotations": [ "Verified complete alert text on https://x.com/FIU/status/1653390447501275137; archiveUrl null.", "Official same-day cascade from @FIU." ], "characterCount": 215, "archiveUrl": null, "confidence": "high", "lastUpdated": "2026-07-18" } ], "context": "[Florida International University](https://www.fiu.edu/) is a Carnegie R1 public research university in Miami serving roughly 56,000 students, the [largest Hispanic-Serving Institution in the United States](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florida_International_University) by enrollment. On the morning of Tuesday, May 2, 2023, FIU was the highest-profile target of a [coordinated swatting wave that hit at least five South Florida campuses in a single morning](https://cbs12.com/news/local/florida-atlantic-international-university-indian-river-state-college-palm-beach-atlantic-university-miami-education-swatting-calls-campuses-active-shooter-false-5-2-2023): Florida Atlantic University, Palm Beach Atlantic, Indian River State, Everglades University, and FIU. FIU's alert system pushed an SMS at approximately 9:30 a.m. EDT reading 'A dangerous situation is occurring on or near campus! Evacuate the area NOW.' with a follow-up email naming the College of Nursing in AHC 3. [FIU Police cleared the building within roughly 30 minutes](https://x.com/FIU/status/1653393956837662726). FIU Police Chief Alexander Casas told reporters: '[It is a hoax call and while some may think it's funny, it is not funny at all, it's an incredible drain on resources](https://www.local10.com/news/local/2023/05/02/swatting-incidents-create-scares-at-fiu-city-college/), first responders are somewhere they don't need to be where they could be doing other things that we should actually be doing.' The case is significant for the archive because (a) it documents the largest-HSI-in-the-country target in a coordinated South Florida swatting wave, (b) the official Twitter post quoted in this case is preserved as confirmed verbatim institutional alert text from a swatting incident, and (c) the SMS-to-email discrepancy (SMS gave no building, email named College of Nursing) drew criticism of FIU's multi-channel alert consistency at the time.", "keyFindings": [ "FIU is the largest Hispanic-Serving Institution in the US, and the May 2, 2023 swatting was the highest-profile target in a coordinated five-campus South Florida wave", "The 88-character initial SMS gave no building location, only a follow-up email cited the College of Nursing in AHC 3, a multi-channel inconsistency that later drew criticism", "FIU Police cleared the building within roughly 30 minutes, fast for the largest HSI in the US", "FIU's official Twitter update from May 2, 2023 is preserved in this case as confirmed verbatim alert text", "FIU Police Chief Alexander Casas publicly characterized the hoax as 'an incredible drain on resources,' an unusually direct institutional statement against swatting", "The case is part of a documented 2023 South Florida swatting wave that targeted multiple HSIs and minority-serving institutions in a single morning" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Prank active shooter calls leave FIU, other South Florida college campus on edge (CBS Miami)", "url": "https://www.cbsnews.com/miami/news/fiu-says-no-danger-found-after-report-of-active-shooter-on-campus/", "type": "local-media" }, { "title": "@FIU official Twitter post, May 2, 2023, FIU Alert Update", "url": "https://x.com/FIU/status/1653393956837662726", "type": "official-social" }, { "title": "False Active Shooter Call at FIU Causes Evacuations, Police Activity (NBC 6 South Florida)", "url": "https://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/false-active-shooter-call-at-fiu-leads-to-evacuations-massive-police-presence/3026080/", "type": "local-media" }, { "title": "False active shooter calls lead to evacuations, alerts at several South Florida campuses (WSVN 7News Miami)", "url": "https://wsvn.com/news/local/miami-dade/false-active-shooter-calls-lead-to-evacuations-alerts-at-several-south-florida-campuses/", "type": "local-media" }, { "title": "'Swatting' incidents create scares at FIU, 2 other college campuses (Local 10 Miami)", "url": "https://www.local10.com/news/local/2023/05/02/swatting-incidents-create-scares-at-fiu-city-college/", "type": "local-media" }, { "title": "Multiple hoax active shooter calls reported at South Florida campuses (CBS 12)", "url": "https://cbs12.com/news/local/florida-atlantic-international-university-indian-river-state-college-palm-beach-atlantic-university-miami-education-swatting-calls-campuses-active-shooter-false-5-2-2023", "type": "local-media" }, { "title": "Active Threat (FIU Department of Emergency Management)", "url": "https://dem.fiu.edu/emergencies/active-threat/", "type": "official-archive" }, { "type": "official-social", "title": "@FIU X cascade 1653390447501275137", "url": "https://x.com/FIU/status/1653390447501275137", "accessedDate": "2026-07-18" }, { "title": "WSVN 7News Miami quoted the FIU Alert SMS verbatim; also documented in Patch and Yahoo coverage of the May 2, 2023 incid", "url": "https://wsvn.com/news/local/miami-dade/all-clear-given-following-dangerous-situation-at-fius-mmc-campus/", "type": "local-media" } ], "confidence": "high", "tags": [ "swatting", "hsi", "hispanic-serving", "florida", "fiu", "miami", "largest-hsi", "ahc-3", "college-of-nursing", "south-florida-wave", "verbatim-confirmed", "evacuation" ], "dateAdded": "2026-05-03", "lastUpdated": "2026-07-18", "addedBy": "ingestion" }