{
  "id": "2024-02-16-stanford-university-shooting-threat",
  "slug": "stanford-university-shooting-threat-2024-02-16",
  "institution": {
    "name": "Stanford University",
    "shortName": "Stanford",
    "state": "CA",
    "type": "private-r1",
    "alertSystemName": "AlertSU",
    "enrollment": 17680
  },
  "incident": {
    "date": "2024-02-16",
    "type": "threat-of-violence",
    "cleryCategory": "emergency-notification",
    "headline": "Phoned-in shooting threat at the campus entrance deemed not credible after search",
    "headlinePublic": "Phoned-in shooting threat at the campus entrance deemed not credible after search",
    "summary": "An unidentified caller phoned the Palo Alto Police Department's non-emergency line at 12:40 p.m. PST stating he was at the entrance to campus and [intended to commit a shooting](https://stanforddaily.com/2024/02/16/shooting-threat-reported-at-stanford/). Stanford issued an [AlertSU at 1:25 p.m. PST](https://police.stanford.edu/alertsu.html?alertid=1408) out of an abundance of caution, and police declared the threat not credible at approximately 3:14 p.m. PST after a campus-wide search.",
    "outcome": "No suspect, weapon, or evidence of a credible threat was found after a multi-hour police investigation. The threat was deemed not credible.",
    "resolution": "unfounded"
  },
  "alerts": [
    {
      "sequence": 1,
      "type": "initial",
      "timestamp": "2024-02-16T13:25:00-08:00",
      "channel": "sms",
      "verbatimText": "AlertSU: On 02/16/2024 at 12:40pm, an unidentified person called the non-emergency phone at Palo Alto dispatch stating he was at the entrance to campus and intended to commit a shooting. DPS responded immediately to the area and has been evaluating the veracity of the call. Out of an abundance of caution, we are notifying the Stanford community. Call 911 if you see anything suspicious.",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://police.stanford.edu/alertsu.html?alertid=1408",
      "sourceDescription": "Stanford Department of Public Safety AlertSU archive",
      "annotations": [
        "Verbatim text from the official Stanford AlertSU archive (alertid=1408), confirmed via search snippets including 'Out of an abundance of caution' framing",
        "Sent at 1:25 p.m. PST on February 16, 2024, 45 minutes after the threatening call was received at 12:40 p.m. PST",
        "Notably, the alert did NOT instruct students to shelter in place, which suggests police assessed the threat as low-credibility from the outset",
        "The caller used the Palo Alto police non-emergency line rather than 911"
      ],
      "characterCount": 388
    },
    {
      "sequence": 2,
      "type": "all-clear",
      "timestamp": "2024-02-16T15:14:00-08:00",
      "channel": "sms",
      "verbatimText": "AlertSU Update: DPS responded to several locations on campus in response to the threat and has since conducted additional investigation. At this time, DPS has no additional information that lends credibility to the threat of a shooting on campus.",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://police.stanford.edu/alertsu.html?alertid=1408",
      "sourceDescription": "Stanford Department of Public Safety AlertSU archive (verbatim text confirmed in Palo Alto Online and Stanford Daily reporting)",
      "annotations": [
        "Issued at approximately 3:14 p.m. PST on February 16, 2024, about 1 hour and 49 minutes after the initial alert",
        "The exact phrasing 'no additional information that lends credibility to the threat of a shooting on campus' appears verbatim in multiple news outlets quoting the AlertSU",
        "The update notably does not issue an explicit 'all clear', it frames the result as absence of evidence rather than confirmed safety"
      ],
      "characterCount": 246
    }
  ],
  "context": "On February 16, 2024, at 12:40 p.m. PST, an unidentified person [called the Palo Alto Police Department](https://stanforddaily.com/2024/02/16/shooting-threat-reported-at-stanford/) and stated he was at the entrance to the Stanford campus and intended to commit a shooting. The [Stanford Department of Public Safety responded immediately](https://www.paloaltoonline.com/news/2024/02/16/shooting-threat-reported-on-stanford-campus/) and spent several hours searching the campus. An AlertSU notification was sent at 1:25 p.m. PST \"out of an abundance of caution,\" but community members were notably not instructed to shelter in place. Several events and classes were canceled during the response. [Aerial news coverage](https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/stanford-shooting-threat/3456627/) from NBC Bay Area showed no visible police activity on campus by 2:30 p.m. PST, and by 3:14 p.m. PST police confirmed there was no credible threat. The decision not to issue a shelter-in-place order was notable and may reflect the assessment that the call to a non-emergency line, rather than 911, reduced its credibility. The incident occurred during a period of heightened concern about campus safety nationwide.",
  "keyFindings": [
    "The 45-minute delay between the call (12:40 p.m. PST) and the alert (1:25 p.m. PST) was used for threat assessment rather than immediate notification, a deliberate choice",
    "The absence of a shelter-in-place directive is significant; Stanford chose to inform rather than restrict, suggesting confidence the threat was not credible",
    "The caller used the non-emergency line rather than 911; police ultimately assessed the threat as not credible",
    "The incident disrupted classes and events for several hours despite the relatively low-credibility assessment"
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "title": "Shooting threat reported at Stanford - Stanford Daily",
      "url": "https://stanforddaily.com/2024/02/16/shooting-threat-reported-at-stanford/",
      "type": "student-newspaper"
    },
    {
      "title": "Stanford: No confirmed credibility to shooting threat reported on campus - Palo Alto Online",
      "url": "https://www.paloaltoonline.com/news/2024/02/16/shooting-threat-reported-on-stanford-campus/",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "Police investigating shooting threat at Stanford campus - NBC Bay Area",
      "url": "https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/stanford-shooting-threat/3456627/",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "AlertSU notification - Stanford Department of Public Safety",
      "url": "https://police.stanford.edu/alertsu.html?alertid=1408",
      "type": "official-archive"
    }
  ],
  "confidence": "high",
  "tags": [
    "threat-of-violence",
    "shooting-threat",
    "unfounded",
    "elite-private",
    "california",
    "no-shelter-in-place",
    "phone-threat"
  ],
  "dateAdded": "2026-05-02",
  "lastUpdated": "2026-06-01",
  "addedBy": "ingestion"
}