{
  "id": "2023-04-13-texas-am-university-swatting",
  "slug": "texas-am-university-swatting-2023-04-13",
  "institution": {
    "name": "Texas A&M University",
    "shortName": "TAMU",
    "state": "TX",
    "type": "public-r1",
    "alertSystemName": "Code Maroon",
    "enrollment": 74000
  },
  "incident": {
    "date": "2023-04-13",
    "type": "swatting",
    "cleryCategory": "emergency-notification",
    "resolution": "confirmed-hoax",
    "headline": "Hoax call reported mass casualties at the health science center; part of a statewide wave",
    "headlinePublic": "Hoax call reported mass casualties at the health science center; part of a statewide wave",
    "summary": "On April 13, 2023, a [hoax caller targeting Texas A&M University's Health Science Center](https://www.kbtx.com/2023/04/13/texas-am-among-statewide-campus-swatting-calls/) reported mass casualties from an active shooter in a laboratory at approximately 10:30 AM CDT. Police from across Brazos County responded, including TAMU PD, Bryan PD, College Station PD, the Sheriff's Office, DPS, and FBI partners. Investigators determined the [same caller targeted Baylor, Collin College, Texas Wesleyan, Del Mar, Galen Nursing School, Tyler Junior College, and Lamar Tech](https://www.cbsnews.com/texas/news/texas-schools-false-active-shooter-reports/) in a coordinated morning of Texas hoaxes.",
    "outcome": "No injuries occurred and no shooter was found. TAMU PD and partner agencies cleared the Health Science Center within approximately 90 minutes. The incident was confirmed as part of a coordinated Texas-wide swatting attack believed to come from a single caller, and the wave became the subject of a federal investigation. No suspect has been publicly identified or charged specifically for the Texas A&M call.",
    "casualties": {
      "killed": 0,
      "injured": 0
    }
  },
  "alerts": [
    {
      "sequence": 1,
      "type": "initial",
      "timestampApprox": "Approximately 10:40 AM CDT on April 13, 2023, shortly after the hoax call came in around 10:30 AM CDT",
      "channel": "sms",
      "verbatimText": "",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": false,
      "sourceDescription": "Reconstructed from KBTX and KAGS reporting on the Code Maroon alert issued in response to the April 13 swatting hoax",
      "annotations": []
    },
    {
      "sequence": 2,
      "type": "all-clear",
      "timestampApprox": "Approximately 12:00 PM CDT on April 13, 2023",
      "channel": "twitter-x",
      "verbatimText": "The report of an active shooter at the Health Science Center is FALSE. There is no threat to campus. The same caller reported an active shooter at other universities today which was also false.",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://x.com/TAMUPolice/status/1646553118652395520",
      "sourceDescription": "@TAMUPolice on X (verbatim raw t.co)",
      "annotations": [
        "Posted verbatim by @TAMUPolice on X/Twitter on April 13, 2023, approximately 90 minutes after the initial alert",
        "TAMU PD explicitly used the word 'FALSE' in all caps in the all-clear, a direct, unambiguous choice not all universities make",
        "The all-clear connects this incident to the coordinated multi-school swatting wave by noting the 'same caller' targeted other universities"
      ],
      "characterCount": 193
    }
  ],
  "context": "On the morning of April 13, 2023, a [hoax caller reported mass casualties from an active shooter](https://www.kbtx.com/2023/04/13/texas-am-among-statewide-campus-swatting-calls/) in a laboratory at Texas A&M University's Health Science Center on the Bryan campus. The call came in around 10:30 AM CDT. TAMU Police, Bryan PD, College Station PD, the Brazos County Sheriff's Office, the Brazos County Constables, the Texas Department of Public Safety, and the Bryan and College Station Fire Departments responded en masse. The Code Maroon alert system (Texas A&M's emergency notification platform created in response to the [2007 Virginia Tech shooting](https://codemaroon.tamu.edu/)) issued a campus-wide alert. Within approximately 90 minutes, officers had cleared the Health Science Center and confirmed the call was a hoax. Investigators quickly connected the TAMU call to [a coordinated morning of swatting calls](https://www.cbsnews.com/texas/news/texas-schools-false-active-shooter-reports/) hitting Baylor University, Collin College's Plano Campus, Texas Wesleyan in Fort Worth, Del Mar College in Corpus Christi, Galen College of Nursing in San Antonio, Tyler Junior College, Lamar Institute of Technology in Beaumont, and Woodsboro ISD. Authorities believed [the same caller was responsible](https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/texas-news/texas-colleges-respond-to-rash-of-hoax-shooting-calls/3235930/) for all the calls. The Texas A&M call targeted the Health Science Center, the medical-school component of a public R1 flagship, rather than the main College Station campus.",
  "keyFindings": [
    "TAMU was one of nine Texas schools hit by the same swatting caller in a single morning",
    "The hoax call targeted the Health Science Center on the Bryan campus rather than the main College Station campus",
    "The Code Maroon emergency notification system, created after Virginia Tech, alerted within minutes",
    "TAMU PD explicitly stated the report was 'FALSE' in all caps in its all-clear, a direct choice not all universities make",
    "The April 13 Texas wave was part of the broader April 4-13, 2023 multi-state swatting campaign hitting more than 20 universities"
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "title": "Texas A&M among series of statewide campus 'swatting' calls (KBTX)",
      "url": "https://www.kbtx.com/2023/04/13/texas-am-among-statewide-campus-swatting-calls/",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "Collin College, Texas Wesleyan hit by apparent 'hoax' active shooter reports (CBS Texas)",
      "url": "https://www.cbsnews.com/texas/news/texas-schools-false-active-shooter-reports/",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "Texas Colleges Respond to Rash of Hoax Shooting Calls (NBC 5 DFW)",
      "url": "https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/texas-news/texas-colleges-respond-to-rash-of-hoax-shooting-calls/3235930/",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "Baylor one of many schools affected by active shooter hoax across Texas, nation (Baylor Lariat)",
      "url": "https://baylorlariat.com/2023/04/13/baylor-one-of-many-schools-affected-by-active-shooter-hoax-across-texas-nation/",
      "type": "student-newspaper"
    },
    {
      "title": "CODE MAROON Emergency Notification System (Texas A&M Official)",
      "url": "https://codemaroon.tamu.edu/",
      "type": "official-archive"
    },
    {
      "title": "Authorities respond to false reports of active shooters at several Texas colleges (KRLD/Audacy)",
      "url": "https://www.audacy.com/krld/news/local/two-north-texas-college-campuses-dealing-with-swatting-calls",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://x.com/TAMUPolice/status/1646553118652395520",
      "title": "@TAMUPolice on X",
      "type": "official-archive",
      "dateAccessed": "2026-07-18"
    }
  ],
  "confidence": "medium",
  "tags": [
    "swatting",
    "texas-am",
    "texas",
    "april-2023-swatting-wave",
    "code-maroon",
    "health-science-center",
    "bryan-campus",
    "coordinated-multi-school-attack",
    "public-r1",
    "state-flagship",
    "fbi-investigation"
  ],
  "dateAdded": "2026-05-03",
  "lastUpdated": "2026-07-18",
  "addedBy": "ingestion"
}