{
  "id": "2023-05-08-st-cloud-state-university-erroneous-active-shooter-alert",
  "slug": "st-cloud-state-university-erroneous-active-shooter-alert-2023-05-08",
  "institution": {
    "name": "St. Cloud State University",
    "shortName": "SCSU",
    "state": "MN",
    "type": "public-masters",
    "alertSystemName": "Star Alert",
    "enrollment": 9500
  },
  "incident": {
    "date": "2023-05-08",
    "type": "swatting",
    "cleryCategory": "emergency-notification",
    "headline": "Active-shooter alert sent in error for a man with a knife; corrected six minutes later",
    "headlinePublic": "Active-shooter alert sent in error for a man with a knife; corrected six minutes later",
    "summary": "On the evening of May 8, 2023, [St. Cloud State University's Star Alert system sent two simultaneous messages to campus](https://www.mprnews.org/story/2023/05/09/erroneous-alert-about-active-shooter-sent-to-st-cloud-state-campus-community): a text saying there was an active shooter using 'RUN. HIDE. FIGHT.' language, and an email about a suspicious person. A correction arrived six minutes later. The underlying incident was a suicidal man with a knife near 4th Avenue and Highway 23, [not an active shooter](https://knsiradio.com/2023/05/09/st-cloud-state-university-students-briefly-thrown-into-a-panic-after-erroneous-active-shooter-message-monday-night/). Police persuaded the man to drop the knife and took him to hospital; no one was injured.",
    "resolution": "unfounded",
    "outcome": "The man was taken to the hospital for evaluation. No injuries occurred. SCSU acknowledged a messaging error and stated the issue was resolved for future emergencies."
  },
  "alerts": [
    {
      "sequence": 1,
      "type": "initial",
      "timestamp": "2023-05-08T22:45:00-05:00",
      "channel": "sms",
      "verbatimText": "ACTIVE SHOOTER ON CAMPUS. RUN. HIDE. FIGHT.",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://www.startribune.com/article/600273481",
      "sourceDescription": "Star Tribune, quoting the erroneous Star Alert text message verbatim",
      "annotations": [
        "The text message went out at approximately 10:45 p.m. CDT on May 8, 2023 with active-shooter 'RUN. HIDE. FIGHT.' language, while the simultaneous email correctly described only a suspicious person: a split-channel error in the Star Alert system.",
        "The 43-character message carried no location detail and no instructions beyond the template; the entire active-shooter template fired in place of the intended suspicious-person notice"
      ],
      "characterCount": 43
    },
    {
      "sequence": 2,
      "type": "correction",
      "timestampApprox": "Approximately 10:50 PM CDT on May 8, 2023",
      "channel": "sms",
      "verbatimText": "",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": false,
      "sourceDescription": "Reconstructed from KNSI Radio and MPR News; correction sent approximately 6 minutes after initial alert; exact wording not published",
      "annotations": []
    },
    {
      "sequence": 3,
      "type": "all-clear",
      "timestampApprox": "Approximately 11:20 PM CDT on May 8, 2023",
      "channel": "sms",
      "verbatimText": "",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": false,
      "sourceDescription": "Reconstructed from MPR News and KNSI; all-clear sent by approximately 11:20 p.m. CDT per reporting",
      "annotations": []
    }
  ],
  "context": "St. Cloud State University operates the Star Alert mass notification system to push emergency messages via text, email, and phone. On the evening of May 8, 2023, a suicidal man armed with a knife was reported in the 300 block of 4th Avenue South (about one block from the SCSU campus) and officers were dispatched at approximately 10:31 p.m. CDT. When a campus emergency operator activated the Star Alert system, a formatting or template error caused the text channel to fire the [active-shooter 'RUN. HIDE. FIGHT.' template](https://www.stcloudstate.edu/publicsafety/safety-tips/shots-fired.aspx) while the simultaneous email correctly described only a suspicious person. The discrepancy triggered campus-wide panic among students and faculty who received the text. A correction went out approximately six minutes later, and a final all-clear followed by 11:20 p.m. CDT. [Police persuaded the man to drop the knife and transported him to a hospital](https://knsiradio.com/2023/05/09/st-cloud-state-university-students-briefly-thrown-into-a-panic-after-erroneous-active-shooter-message-monday-night/) for a mental health evaluation; no one was hurt. The university issued a statement the next day saying the error was corrected. The incident is an example of split-channel alert failure: two simultaneous messages carried contradictory severity levels, leaving recipients unsure which was correct. [Erroneous active-shooter alerts](https://www.startribune.com/article/600273481) have been documented at several US campuses.",
  "keyFindings": [
    "A split-channel error sent active-shooter 'RUN. HIDE. FIGHT.' language by text while the simultaneous email correctly described a suspicious person",
    "The underlying call was a suicidal man with a knife, not an active shooter; no shots were fired and no one was injured",
    "The correction arrived in six minutes, but the gap between the two messages was long enough to spread campus-wide panic",
    "SCSU acknowledged the error publicly and said the underlying system issue was resolved"
  ],
  "responseTimeMinutes": 14,
  "sources": [
    {
      "title": "Erroneous alert about 'active shooter' sent to St. Cloud State campus community -- MPR News",
      "url": "https://www.mprnews.org/story/2023/05/09/erroneous-alert-about-active-shooter-sent-to-st-cloud-state-campus-community",
      "type": "local-media",
      "accessDate": "2026-05-31"
    },
    {
      "title": "St. Cloud State erroneously sends active shooter alert: 'RUN. HIDE. FIGHT.' -- Star Tribune",
      "url": "https://www.startribune.com/article/600273481",
      "type": "local-media",
      "accessDate": "2026-05-31"
    },
    {
      "title": "St. Cloud Police Give Update Regarding Suspicious Person at SCSU -- KNSI Radio",
      "url": "https://knsiradio.com/2023/05/09/st-cloud-state-university-students-briefly-thrown-into-a-panic-after-erroneous-active-shooter-message-monday-night/",
      "type": "local-media",
      "accessDate": "2026-05-31"
    },
    {
      "title": "St. Cloud State sends out active shooter alert before quickly changing messaging -- CBS Minnesota",
      "url": "https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/st-cloud-state-disregard-active-shooter-alert/",
      "type": "local-media",
      "accessDate": "2026-05-31"
    },
    {
      "title": "SCSU issues correction message after mistakenly sending active shooter alert -- KSTP",
      "url": "https://kstp.com/kstp-news/local-news/scsu-issues-correction-message-after-mistakenly-sending-an-active-shooter-alert/",
      "type": "local-media",
      "accessDate": "2026-05-31"
    }
  ],
  "confidence": "medium",
  "tags": [
    "erroneous-alert",
    "active-shooter",
    "system-error",
    "split-channel",
    "suspicious-person",
    "mental-health",
    "minnesota",
    "star-alert",
    "correction"
  ],
  "dateAdded": "2026-05-31",
  "lastUpdated": "2026-07-16",
  "addedBy": "ingestion"
}