{
  "id": "2023-10-08-university-of-hawaii-manoa-airsoft-drive-by",
  "slug": "university-of-hawaii-manoa-airsoft-drive-by-2023-10-08",
  "institution": {
    "name": "University of Hawai'i at Mānoa",
    "shortName": "UH Mānoa",
    "state": "HI",
    "type": "public-r1",
    "alertSystemName": "UH Alert",
    "alertPlatform": "Rave Mobile Safety",
    "enrollment": 19000
  },
  "incident": {
    "date": "2023-10-08",
    "type": "assault",
    "cleryCategory": "advisory",
    "headline": "Two students struck by airsoft pellets fired from a passing vehicle; minor injuries",
    "headlinePublic": "Two students struck by airsoft pellets fired from a passing vehicle; minor injuries",
    "summary": "On the evening of Sunday, October 8, 2023, [two UH Mānoa students were hit by airsoft pellets](https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2023/10/10/police-searching-suspects-drive-by-pellet-gun-shooting-uh-manoa/) fired from a passing dark-colored SUV on [Dole Street](https://manoa.hawaii.edu/dps/2023/10/09/airsoft-projectile-incident-at-uh-manoa/) at approximately 7:30 PM HST. The students were treated for minor arm and leg injuries. UH Mānoa's [Department of Public Safety](https://www.khon2.com/local-news/uh-manoa-says-drive-by-shooting-could-be-related-to-new-tiktok-challenge/) linked the attack to a viral TikTok challenge that had spread similar incidents nationwide and pushed a community advisory rather than a Clery emergency notification.",
    "outcome": "Two students were treated for minor injuries. Honolulu Police took the report; suspects were never publicly identified. UH Mānoa DPS published a same-day advisory and recommended that students use the Mānoa Guardian app's Safety Timer feature when walking the campus perimeter.",
    "resolution": "confirmed-threat",
    "casualties": {
      "killed": 0,
      "injured": 2
    }
  },
  "alerts": [
    {
      "sequence": 1,
      "type": "initial",
      "timestampApprox": "Posted October 9, 2023 by UH Mānoa Department of Public Safety",
      "channel": "website",
      "verbatimText": "Airsoft projectile incident at UH Mānoa. On Sunday, October 8, 2023 at 7:30 p.m., UH Mānoa Department of Public Safety received a report that a vehicle drove by students and shot at them with an airsoft-type gun on Dole Street. Two students were treated for minor injuries on their arms and legs as a result of this incident. The vehicle is described as a dark-colored SUV, but witnesses could not recall any further description. The University indicated this was likely related to a TikTok challenge which has drawn law enforcement's attention nationwide, in which plastic pellets are shot from airsoft-type guns to hit unsuspecting individuals. UH Mānoa takes this extremely dangerous activity very seriously. Honolulu Police were contacted by the reporting parties.",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://manoa.hawaii.edu/dps/2023/10/09/airsoft-projectile-incident-at-uh-manoa/",
      "sourceDescription": "UH Mānoa Department of Public Safety advisory post, October 9, 2023",
      "annotations": [
        "Published as a 'Public Safety Advisory' on the DPS website rather than a UH Alert SMS push; DPS did not use the campus-wide emergency channel because the incident was over by the time of posting and posed no continuing on-campus threat",
        "Naming Dole Street specifically (the southern boundary of the residential portion of campus where Frear Hall and the Dole Street Apartments sit) gave students concrete geographic guidance without escalating to a shelter order",
        "The TikTok-challenge framing was unusually explicit; campus advisories often avoid attributing motive, but this one named the suspected viral trend directly rather than framing the incident as a targeted attack"
      ],
      "characterCount": 768
    }
  ],
  "context": "The University of Hawai'i at Mānoa is the flagship campus of the [University of Hawai'i System](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Hawaii_at_Manoa). Its southern boundary runs along Dole Street, which is a primary thoroughfare between residence halls and academic buildings. At approximately 7:30 PM HST on Sunday, October 8, 2023, an unidentified person in a dark-colored SUV fired airsoft pellets at two UH Mānoa students walking on Dole Street, striking both on the arms and legs. The students were treated for minor injuries; [Honolulu Police](https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2023/10/10/police-searching-suspects-drive-by-pellet-gun-shooting-uh-manoa/) took the report. UH Mānoa's [Department of Public Safety](https://manoa.hawaii.edu/dps/2023/10/09/airsoft-projectile-incident-at-uh-manoa/) published an advisory on its website the next day rather than pushing an active UH Alert, because by then the incident had concluded and no continuing threat to campus was identified. DPS director Jeffrey Au told [KHON2](https://www.khon2.com/local-news/uh-manoa-says-drive-by-shooting-could-be-related-to-new-tiktok-challenge/) that the attack was likely connected to a viral [TikTok 'Orbeez challenge'](https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2022/03/25/uh-manoa-students-targeted-airsoft-gun-drive-by-shooting-linked-tiktok-trend/) variant, earlier UH Mānoa students had been hit in a March 2022 wave of similar attacks tied to the same trend. The case is significant for archive purposes because it represents the 'advisory' tier of campus safety communications: a real incident with real injuries, but one that did not meet the federal threshold for a Clery 'emergency notification' under 34 CFR 668.46(g) because the threat had ended before the message was sent.",
  "keyFindings": [
    "DPS chose a website advisory rather than a Rave Mobile Safety push because the incident had concluded by the time of publication, a textbook 'advisory' rather than 'emergency notification' under Clery",
    "Two UH Mānoa students were physically struck by airsoft pellets and treated for minor injuries, the incident was not merely a sighting",
    "DPS attributed the attack to a viral TikTok 'Orbeez challenge' variant, which had also triggered a similar wave of UH Mānoa drive-bys in March 2022",
    "UH Mānoa's DPS pointed students to the Mānoa Guardian app's Safety Timer feature, an example of integrating commercial safety apps with campus advisory messaging",
    "Suspects in a dark-colored SUV were never publicly identified and no arrests were made"
  ],
  "responseTimeMinutes": null,
  "sources": [
    {
      "title": "Airsoft projectile incident at UH Mānoa (UH Mānoa DPS official advisory)",
      "url": "https://manoa.hawaii.edu/dps/2023/10/09/airsoft-projectile-incident-at-uh-manoa/",
      "type": "official-archive"
    },
    {
      "title": "Police searching for suspects in drive-by pellet gun shooting at UH Manoa (Hawaii News Now)",
      "url": "https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2023/10/10/police-searching-suspects-drive-by-pellet-gun-shooting-uh-manoa/",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "UH Manoa says drive-by shooting could be related to new TikTok challenge (KHON2)",
      "url": "https://www.khon2.com/local-news/uh-manoa-says-drive-by-shooting-could-be-related-to-new-tiktok-challenge/",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "Student shot at in airsoft drive-by at UH Manoa (KITV)",
      "url": "https://www.kitv.com/news/crime/student-shot-at-in-airsoft-drive-by-at-uh-manoa/article_2593ad66-d561-4a47-904f-ddf743dfe18a.html",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "UH Manoa students targeted in airsoft gun drive-by shooting linked to TikTok trend (March 2022 prior wave)",
      "url": "https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2022/03/25/uh-manoa-students-targeted-airsoft-gun-drive-by-shooting-linked-tiktok-trend/",
      "type": "local-media"
    }
  ],
  "confidence": "high",
  "tags": [
    "advisory",
    "airsoft",
    "drive-by",
    "tiktok-challenge",
    "off-campus-perimeter",
    "dole-street",
    "honolulu",
    "hawaii",
    "minor-injuries",
    "viral-trend"
  ],
  "dateAdded": "2026-05-13",
  "lastUpdated": "2026-05-13",
  "addedBy": "ingestion"
}