{
  "id": "2019-10-02-suny-oneonta-active-shooter-hoax",
  "slug": "suny-oneonta-active-shooter-hoax-2019-10-02",
  "institution": {
    "name": "State University of New York at Oneonta",
    "shortName": "SUNY Oneonta",
    "state": "NY",
    "type": "public-masters",
    "alertSystemName": "O-Alert",
    "alertPlatform": "Rave",
    "enrollment": 6500
  },
  "incident": {
    "date": "2019-10-02",
    "type": "threat-of-violence",
    "cleryCategory": "emergency-notification",
    "resolution": "confirmed-hoax",
    "headline": "Shooting threat traced to a student's hacked phone; 44-minute shelter-in-place",
    "headlinePublic": "Shooting threat traced to a student's hacked phone; 44-minute shelter-in-place",
    "summary": "On October 2, 2019, [SUNY Oneonta sheltered in place for 44 minutes](https://www.thedailystar.com/news/local_news/suny-oneonta-locks-down-after-reported-threat/article_1c5108ef-3952-5061-aabb-79bab6d0c5de.html) after a New York City crisis hotline relayed a chat message threatening to shoot people on campus. Investigators determined within an hour that [the threat originated from a SUNY Oneonta student's hacked phone](https://wnbf.com/suny-oneonta-shooter-threat-resulted-from-a-phone-hack/) and that the student herself was not involved.",
    "outcome": "University Police, working with Oneonta Police, Otsego County law enforcement, New York State Police, NYPD, and the FBI, interviewed the student whose phone was hacked and confirmed she had been working with college Information Technology Services on the cyber-crime before the threat was sent. The shelter-in-place directive issued at 5:30 PM EDT was lifted at 6:14 PM EDT.",
    "casualties": {
      "killed": 0,
      "injured": 0
    }
  },
  "alerts": [
    {
      "sequence": 1,
      "type": "initial",
      "timestamp": "2019-10-02T17:30:00-04:00",
      "channel": "sms",
      "verbatimText": "University Police has received notification that a current student believed to be on campus is threatening to shoot members of the campus community. Please shelter in place.",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://www.mytwintiers.com/news-cat/breaking-news/active-shooter-threat-at-suny-oneonta-students-urged-to-take-shelter/",
      "sourceDescription": "WETM-TV (MyTwinTiers) verbatim quote of the O-Alert message",
      "annotations": [
        "Pushed at 5:30 PM EDT on October 2, 2019, roughly two hours after a New York City crisis hotline relayed the threat chat message to SUNY Oneonta",
        "Notable for describing the threat actor as 'a current student believed to be on campus'; investigators later determined the student's phone had been hacked and she was not involved",
        "Sent via the O-Alert system (Rave-powered NY-Alert deployment) through SMS, email, and voice channels"
      ],
      "characterCount": 173
    },
    {
      "sequence": 2,
      "type": "all-clear",
      "timestamp": "2019-10-02T18:14:00-04:00",
      "channel": "sms",
      "verbatimText": "",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": false,
      "sourceDescription": "Reconstructed from WKTV, CBS6 Albany, and All Otsego reporting on the 6:14 PM EDT O-Alert that lifted the directive",
      "annotations": []
    }
  ],
  "context": "Just after 3:38 PM EDT on October 2, 2019, [a New York City crisis hotline contacted SUNY Oneonta](https://wnbf.com/suny-oneonta-shooter-threat-resulted-from-a-phone-hack/) to report a chat message that appeared to come from a SUNY Oneonta student threatening to shoot members of the campus community. The college's initial review judged the message credible enough to push an O-Alert shelter-in-place at [5:30 PM EDT](https://www.mytwintiers.com/news-cat/breaking-news/active-shooter-threat-at-suny-oneonta-students-urged-to-take-shelter/), and the campus sheltered in place. Within the next 44 minutes, University Police located the student named in the chat, who had separately reported to City of Oneonta Police that her phone had been hacked and was at that moment working with campus Information Technology Services to remediate. SUNY Oneonta [lifted the shelter-in-place at 6:14 PM EDT](https://cnynews.com/update-suny-oneonta-shooting-threat-shelter-order-lifted/) and characterized the underlying event as a 'cyber-crime' that 'posed no actual danger.' The incident drew [later criticism over the response time](https://www.thedailystar.com/news/local_news/suny-oneonta-faces-criticism-after-reported-threat/article_5cde9ff5-d1c4-5449-9421-6f44f52d618d.html) (almost two hours elapsed between the hotline call and the first O-Alert) and stands as an early documented case of a hacked-phone vector producing a credible-looking campus shooting threat. Investigative partners included Oneonta Police, Otsego County law enforcement, the New York State Police, NYPD, and the FBI.",
  "keyFindings": [
    "Roughly two hours elapsed between the crisis-hotline call (3:38 PM EDT) and the first O-Alert (5:30 PM EDT), drawing later criticism",
    "The shelter-in-place lasted 44 minutes, from 5:30 PM to 6:14 PM EDT on October 2, 2019",
    "An early documented case of a hacked-phone vector producing a credible-looking campus shooting threat, anticipating later swatting and SIM-jack hoax waves"
  ],
  "responseTimeMinutes": 112,
  "sources": [
    {
      "title": "SUNY Oneonta locks down after reported threat (The Daily Star)",
      "url": "https://www.thedailystar.com/news/local_news/suny-oneonta-locks-down-after-reported-threat/article_1c5108ef-3952-5061-aabb-79bab6d0c5de.html",
      "type": "local-media",
      "accessDate": "2026-05-13"
    },
    {
      "title": "UPDATE: Threat of violence at SUNY Oneonta the result of a cyber-crime (WETM)",
      "url": "https://www.mytwintiers.com/news-cat/breaking-news/active-shooter-threat-at-suny-oneonta-students-urged-to-take-shelter/",
      "type": "local-media",
      "accessDate": "2026-05-13"
    },
    {
      "title": "SUNY Oneonta Shooter Threat Resulted from a Phone Hack (WNBF)",
      "url": "https://wnbf.com/suny-oneonta-shooter-threat-resulted-from-a-phone-hack/",
      "type": "local-media",
      "accessDate": "2026-05-13"
    },
    {
      "title": "UPDATE: SUNY Oneonta Shooting Threat; Shelter Order Lifted (CNY News)",
      "url": "https://cnynews.com/update-suny-oneonta-shooting-threat-shelter-order-lifted/",
      "type": "local-media",
      "accessDate": "2026-05-13"
    },
    {
      "title": "SUNY Oneonta faces criticism after reported threat (The Daily Star)",
      "url": "https://www.thedailystar.com/news/local_news/suny-oneonta-faces-criticism-after-reported-threat/article_5cde9ff5-d1c4-5449-9421-6f44f52d618d.html",
      "type": "local-media",
      "accessDate": "2026-05-13"
    },
    {
      "title": "Police: SUNY Shooting Threat Was Made On Hacked Phone (AllOtsego)",
      "url": "https://www.allotsego.com/police-suny-shooting-threat-was-made-on-hacked-phone/",
      "type": "local-media",
      "accessDate": "2026-05-13"
    }
  ],
  "confidence": "medium",
  "tags": [
    "threat-of-violence",
    "hoax",
    "cyber-crime",
    "hacked-phone",
    "suny",
    "new-york",
    "shelter-in-place",
    "o-alert",
    "public-masters"
  ],
  "dateAdded": "2026-05-13",
  "lastUpdated": "2026-07-16",
  "addedBy": "ingestion"
}