{
  "id": "2023-05-01-radford-university-washington-hall-swatting",
  "slug": "radford-university-washington-hall-swatting-2023-05-01",
  "institution": {
    "name": "Radford University",
    "shortName": "RU",
    "state": "VA",
    "type": "public-masters",
    "alertSystemName": "Radford Alert",
    "enrollment": 7000
  },
  "incident": {
    "date": "2023-05-01",
    "type": "swatting",
    "cleryCategory": "emergency-notification",
    "headline": "Swatting call about a residence hall prompts a one-hour secure-in-place; no threat found",
    "headlinePublic": "Swatting call about a residence hall prompts a one-hour secure-in-place; no threat found",
    "summary": "At about 3:26 p.m. EDT on May 1, 2023, Radford University Police received a relayed call from Radford City Police about a threatening phone call referencing [Washington Hall](https://www.wfxrtv.com/news/local-news/new-river-valley-local-news/radford-university-issues-secure-in-place-alert/), a residence hall on the Virginia campus. Radford activated its Radford Alert system, telling the community to secure in place and avoid the building. [Officers cleared Washington Hall and found no threat](https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2023/05/01/radford-university-under-secure-in-place-due-to-police-activity-at-washington-hall/), issuing an all-clear at 4:26 p.m. EDT. Police described it as a swatting call.",
    "outcome": "Washington Hall was cleared with no threat found and no shots fired. The secure-in-place was lifted with an all-clear one hour after it began. The university worked with local, state and federal agencies to identify the caller.",
    "resolution": "confirmed-hoax"
  },
  "alerts": [
    {
      "sequence": 1,
      "type": "initial",
      "timestampApprox": "Shortly after 3:26 p.m. EDT on May 1, 2023",
      "channel": "sms",
      "verbatimText": "Radford Alert! Urgent: Law Enforcement Activity at Washington Hall. Secure-in-Place. Avoid area. Follow authorities' instructions. Call RUPD if help is needed.",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://www.wavy.com/news/virginia/secure-in-place-alert-issued-at-radford-university/",
      "sourceDescription": "WAVY-TV quoting the verbatim Radford Alert message",
      "annotations": [
        "Exact Radford Alert text recovered from WAVY-TV, which reproduced the message in full ('Radford Alert! Urgent: Law Enforcement Activity at Washington Hall. Secure-in-Place. Avoid area. Follow authorities' instructions. Call RUPD if help is needed.'); the distinctive 'Avoid area' and 'Follow authorities' instructions' phrasing is corroborated by WSET and Radford University's own Facebook post.",
        "Radford uses 'secure in place' rather than 'shelter in place,' a wording choice the university maintains in its emergency vocabulary and that appears in its public statements about the incident."
      ],
      "characterCount": 159
    },
    {
      "sequence": 2,
      "type": "all-clear",
      "timestamp": "2023-05-01T16:26:00-04:00",
      "channel": "sms",
      "verbatimText": "This is an ALL CLEAR notification. No Shots Were Fired at Washington Hall. No Threat to Public Safety Exists. Campus can resume activities.",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://www.nbc12.com/2023/05/01/police-activity-initiates-secure-in-place-radford-university/",
      "sourceDescription": "NBC12 quoting the verbatim Radford all-clear notification",
      "annotations": [
        "Exact all-clear text recovered: NBC12 and WDBJ7 independently reproduced the same wording ('No Shots Were Fired at Washington Hall. No Threat to Public Safety Exists.'), and the title-case capitalization is preserved across both sources.",
        "The clean one-hour window from the 3:26 p.m. EDT call to the 4:26 p.m. EDT all-clear is characteristic of a swatting response, where police clear the named building and quickly determine the threat was fabricated."
      ],
      "characterCount": 139
    }
  ],
  "context": "Radford University's own statement, reported by [WSLS](https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2023/05/01/radford-university-under-secure-in-place-due-to-police-activity-at-washington-hall/) and [WFXR](https://www.wfxrtv.com/news/local-news/new-river-valley-local-news/radford-university-issues-secure-in-place-alert/), said that at approximately 3:26 p.m. EDT on Monday, May 1, 2023, the Radford University Police Department received a call from the Radford City Police Department about a threatening phone call referencing Washington Hall, a residence hall on the New River Valley campus. The university activated its [Radford Alert](https://www.radford.edu/police/alert.html) system, directing the community to secure in place and avoid the building. [NBC12](https://www.nbc12.com/2023/05/01/police-activity-initiates-secure-in-place-radford-university/) and [WSLS follow-up reporting](https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2023/05/02/radford-university-victim-of-fake-call-claiming-an-active-shooter-was-on-campus/) confirmed the all-clear came at 4:26 p.m. EDT and that the incident was a swatting call, part of a wave of similar fake threats targeting universities that spring. No shots were fired and no threat was found. The verbatim text of both the secure-in-place alert and the all-clear was reproduced by Roanoke-area outlets ([WAVY](https://www.wavy.com/news/virginia/secure-in-place-alert-issued-at-radford-university/) and NBC12/WDBJ7) and is captured above.",
  "keyFindings": [
    "A swatting call referencing a specific residence hall (Washington Hall) prompted a one-hour secure-in-place at Radford University",
    "Radford's alerting vocabulary uses 'secure in place' rather than 'shelter in place,' reflected in both its messaging and public statements",
    "The threat was fabricated (part of a 2023 wave of swatting calls against universities) and was cleared with no injuries",
    "Both the secure-in-place alert and the all-clear were quoted verbatim by Roanoke-area news outlets (WAVY, NBC12, WDBJ7)"
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "title": "Radford University Police: Secure in place, now lifted, due to threatening 'swatting call' - WSLS",
      "url": "https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2023/05/01/radford-university-under-secure-in-place-due-to-police-activity-at-washington-hall/",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "ALL CLEAR: Radford University secure-in-place lifted after 'spoof call' - WFXR",
      "url": "https://www.wfxrtv.com/news/local-news/new-river-valley-local-news/radford-university-issues-secure-in-place-alert/",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "Secure-in-place status lifted at Radford University; all-clear given - NBC12",
      "url": "https://www.nbc12.com/2023/05/01/police-activity-initiates-secure-in-place-radford-university/",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "Radford University victim of fake call claiming an active shooter was on campus - WSLS",
      "url": "https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2023/05/02/radford-university-victim-of-fake-call-claiming-an-active-shooter-was-on-campus/",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "WAVY-TV quoting the verbatim Radford Alert message",
      "url": "https://www.wavy.com/news/virginia/secure-in-place-alert-issued-at-radford-university/",
      "type": "local-media"
    }
  ],
  "confidence": "medium",
  "tags": [
    "swatting",
    "virginia",
    "emergency-notification",
    "secure-in-place",
    "radford-alert",
    "residence-hall",
    "all-clear"
  ],
  "dateAdded": "2026-05-29",
  "lastUpdated": "2026-07-16",
  "addedBy": "ingestion"
}