{
  "id": "2024-03-13-university-of-puget-sound-lockdown",
  "slug": "university-of-puget-sound-lockdown-2024-03-13",
  "institution": {
    "name": "University of Puget Sound",
    "shortName": "UPS",
    "state": "WA",
    "type": "private-liberal-arts",
    "alertSystemName": "Puget Sound Alert",
    "enrollment": 2200
  },
  "incident": {
    "date": "2024-03-13",
    "type": "threat-of-violence",
    "cleryCategory": "emergency-notification",
    "headline": "Anonymous threat prompted a campus lockdown; deemed non-credible within about an hour",
    "headlinePublic": "Anonymous threat prompted a campus lockdown; deemed non-credible within about an hour",
    "summary": "The [University of Puget Sound](https://www.pugetsound.edu/emergency/security-alerts-emergency-communications) initiated a campus lockdown at 7:47 AM PDT on March 13, 2024 after Security Services received a threat to campus. [Tacoma Police](https://www.pugetsound.edu/security-services/annual-security-report-clery/archive/2024-annual-security-report) responded to assist Security Services in clearing buildings. The threat was deemed non-credible and the lockdown was lifted at 8:55 AM PDT.",
    "outcome": "Threat deemed non-credible after a campus search by Tacoma Police and UPS Security Services. No injuries. The university resumed normal operations with extra security present. The source of the threat was not publicly identified.",
    "resolution": "unfounded"
  },
  "alerts": [
    {
      "sequence": 1,
      "type": "initial",
      "timestamp": "2024-03-13T08:03:00-07:00",
      "channel": "sms",
      "verbatimText": "ALERT: Please Stay Indoors Security Services is investigating a situation currently affecting campus. At this time, we ask that you remain indoors, avoid unnecessary travel around campus, and follow any guidance provided by security personnel.",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://www.pugetsound.edu/emergency/security-alerts-emergency-communications",
      "sourceDescription": "Puget Sound Security Alerts & Emergency Communications archive",
      "annotations": [
        "Sent 16 minutes after the 7:47 AM PDT lockdown was initiated",
        "The phrasing 'Please Stay Indoors' is gentler than the standard 'Shelter In Place' or 'Lockdown' language used by larger universities, a tonal choice consistent with a small liberal arts campus",
        "The vague 'situation currently affecting campus' reflects what UPS knew at 8:03 AM PDT on March 13, 2024, before the threat had been characterized as credible or non-credible"
      ],
      "characterCount": 243
    },
    {
      "sequence": 2,
      "type": "update",
      "timestamp": "2024-03-13T08:41:00-07:00",
      "channel": "sms",
      "verbatimText": "We have received a threat to campus. The Tacoma Police Department is on campus assisting Security Services. Please continue to shelter in place.",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://www.pugetsound.edu/emergency/security-alerts-emergency-communications",
      "sourceDescription": "Puget Sound Security Alerts & Emergency Communications archive",
      "annotations": [
        "Thirty-eight minutes after the initial alert, UPS named the underlying issue: 'a threat to campus' and confirmed Tacoma PD presence",
        "The shift from 'stay indoors' to 'shelter in place' marks a verbal escalation, even though the operational guidance is the same"
      ],
      "characterCount": 144
    },
    {
      "sequence": 3,
      "type": "all-clear",
      "timestamp": "2024-03-13T08:55:00-07:00",
      "channel": "sms",
      "verbatimText": "All clear. The campus has been thoroughly inspected and the threat is deemed non-credible. Campus is safe and the lockdown is being lifted as advised by TPD and Security services.",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://www.pugetsound.edu/emergency/security-alerts-emergency-communications",
      "sourceDescription": "Puget Sound Security Alerts & Emergency Communications archive",
      "annotations": [
        "The all-clear came 14 minutes after the 'threat to campus' update, a quick clearance for a campus with multiple academic and residential buildings",
        "Use of the word 'lockdown' in the all-clear is the only message in the sequence to formally label the event a lockdown, retroactively framing the prior 'shelter in place' guidance",
        "The dual attribution to 'TPD and Security services' establishes shared accountability between municipal and university authorities for the determination"
      ],
      "characterCount": 179
    }
  ],
  "context": "The University of Puget Sound is a small liberal arts campus on the north end of Tacoma with about 2,200 students. According to the [Annual Security Report](https://www.pugetsound.edu/security-services/annual-security-report-clery/archive/2024-annual-security-report), Security Services received a threat to campus before 8 AM on March 13, 2024 and initiated lockdown at 7:47 AM PDT. Tacoma Police were called in to help conduct a building-by-building check. The whole sequence (from lockdown initiation to all-clear) took about 68 minutes, an unusually quick resolution that reflects both the small footprint of the campus (97 acres) and the early-morning timing, before most academic buildings were heavily occupied. The university's [Lockdown procedures page](https://www.pugetsound.edu/emergency/quick-guide-incident-response/lockdown) calls for staff to lock interior doors, turn off lights, and stay away from windows; those instructions were referenced repeatedly during the response. Although UPS regularly conducts campus-wide [lockdown and shelter-in-place drills](https://www.pugetsound.edu/tomorrows-campus-lockdownshelter-place-drill-91521), the March 2024 incident was an actual emergency rather than a drill, the institution's first real lockdown of the academic year.",
  "keyFindings": [
    "UPS lifted the lockdown 68 minutes after initiation, among the fastest building-clearance sequences in this archive at a multi-building residential campus",
    "The university used 'Please Stay Indoors' language rather than 'Lockdown' or 'Shelter In Place' in its first message",
    "The threat source was never publicly identified; UPS classified the incident as non-credible after a Tacoma PD-assisted sweep",
    "The early-morning timing (before most classes had started) meant fewer students were affected and Tacoma PD could clear academic buildings more quickly"
  ],
  "responseTimeMinutes": 16,
  "sources": [
    {
      "title": "Security Alerts & Emergency Communications",
      "url": "https://www.pugetsound.edu/emergency/security-alerts-emergency-communications",
      "type": "official-archive"
    },
    {
      "title": "2024 Annual Security Report (Clery)",
      "url": "https://www.pugetsound.edu/security-services/annual-security-report-clery/archive/2024-annual-security-report",
      "type": "clery-asr"
    },
    {
      "title": "Lockdown procedures (Puget Sound)",
      "url": "https://www.pugetsound.edu/emergency/quick-guide-incident-response/lockdown",
      "type": "official-archive"
    },
    {
      "title": "Emergency Response Plans (Puget Sound)",
      "url": "https://www.pugetsound.edu/emergency/emergency-response-plans",
      "type": "official-archive"
    }
  ],
  "confidence": "high",
  "tags": [
    "lockdown",
    "threat-of-violence",
    "non-credible",
    "tacoma",
    "liberal-arts",
    "small-campus",
    "washington",
    "private-liberal-arts"
  ],
  "dateAdded": "2026-05-03",
  "lastUpdated": "2026-07-16",
  "addedBy": "ingestion"
}