{
  "id": "2025-08-24-university-of-south-carolina-swatting",
  "slug": "university-of-south-carolina-swatting-2025-08-24",
  "institution": {
    "name": "University of South Carolina",
    "shortName": "USC",
    "state": "SC",
    "type": "public-r1",
    "alertSystemName": "Carolina Alert",
    "enrollment": 35000
  },
  "incident": {
    "date": "2025-08-24",
    "type": "swatting",
    "cleryCategory": "emergency-notification",
    "resolution": "confirmed-hoax",
    "headline": "False 911 calls with simulated gunfire trigger an active-shooter alert at the library",
    "headlinePublic": "False 911 calls with simulated gunfire trigger an active-shooter alert at the library",
    "summary": "On August 24, 2025, [USCPD dispatch received two 911 calls](https://www.wistv.com/2025/08/25/no-evidence-shooting-found-uscs-campus/) within two minutes reporting an active shooter at Thomas Cooper Library, with the unknown male caller using background noise that mimicked gunfire. The [Carolina Alert system](https://www.wltx.com/article/news/local/usc-issues-alert-for-report-of-active-shooter-near-thomas-cooper-library/101-d7a5c7f8-bac5-4af4-bf72-6e98ce937a16) sent a full active shooter notification with Run-Hide-Fight instructions to the campus community.",
    "outcome": "Police found no evidence of a shooting after sweeping the library and surrounding area. The incident was confirmed as a swatting hoax. SLED and USCPD launched an investigation."
  },
  "alerts": [
    {
      "sequence": 1,
      "type": "initial",
      "timestampApprox": "Shortly after 6:32 PM EDT on August 24, 2025",
      "channel": "twitter-x",
      "verbatimText": "Urgent Carolina Alert: Active Shooter at Thomas Cooper Library on Columbia campus. Subject reported as 6ft white male with black pants. http://sc.edu/carolinaalert.",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://x.com/CarolinaAlert/status/1959749529873395945",
      "sourceDescription": "@CarolinaAlert on X (verbatim)",
      "annotations": [
        "Sent shortly after the second 911 call at 6:32:20 PM EDT, the unknown male caller's hoax included background noise that mimicked gunfire",
        "Pushes a granular suspect description ('6ft white male with black pants') sourced from the swatting caller, the same caller who fabricated the shooter report in the first place",
        "Carolina Alert posted this same text to X (Twitter) as well as sending it via SMS, email, and other channels",
        "Corrected to exact fxtwitter display text."
      ],
      "characterCount": 164
    },
    {
      "sequence": 2,
      "type": "update",
      "timestampApprox": "Approximately 6:35 PM EDT on August 24, 2025",
      "channel": "twitter-x",
      "verbatimText": "Urgent Carolina Alert: No evident of an Active Shooter at this time. Police are searching. Please continue to shelter in place until there is an all clear.",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://x.com/CarolinaAlert/status/1959755127226609697",
      "sourceDescription": "@CarolinaAlert on X (verbatim raw t.co)",
      "annotations": [
        "Posted verbatim by the official Carolina Alert account and quoted word-for-word by CNN and WLTX",
        "Includes Run-Hide-Fight instructions ('Defend yourself if you encounter the suspect')",
        "The caller claimed to have seen a person carrying a firearm going into Thomas Cooper Library"
      ],
      "characterCount": 155,
      "confidence": "high"
    },
    {
      "sequence": 3,
      "type": "update",
      "timestampApprox": "Approximately 7:10 PM EDT on August 24, 2025",
      "channel": "sms",
      "verbatimText": "Urgent Carolina Alert: No evident of an Active Shooter at this time. Police are searching. Please continue to shelter in place until there is an all clear.",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://x.com/CarolinaAlert/status/1959755127226609697",
      "sourceDescription": "Carolina Alert official X/Twitter account, verbatim post at approximately 7:10 PM EDT; text also confirmed via official Facebook post",
      "annotations": [
        "Verbatim text confirmed from the official @CarolinaAlert X post; the word 'evident' is the original typo in the sent alert (should be 'evidence'), typo preserved per archive policy",
        "Despite the typo, the message clearly communicates there is no active shooter and instructs continued shelter-in-place",
        "This message was notable for continuing to instruct shelter-in-place even as police found no evidence of a threat"
      ],
      "characterCount": 155
    },
    {
      "sequence": 4,
      "type": "all-clear",
      "timestampApprox": "Evening of August 24, 2025 EDT",
      "channel": "sms",
      "verbatimText": "Carolina Alert: ALL CLEAR. ALL CLEAR. There is no ongoing emergency at this time; you no longer need to shelter in place.",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://www.wltx.com/article/news/local/usc-issues-alert-for-report-of-active-shooter-near-thomas-cooper-library/101-d7a5c7f8-bac5-4af4-bf72-6e98ce937a16",
      "sourceDescription": "WLTX quoting the Carolina Alert all-clear verbatim",
      "annotations": [
        "WLTX quoted this all-clear text exactly as sent, including the doubled 'ALL CLEAR. ALL CLEAR.' for emphasis",
        "Notably brief, does not yet characterize the incident as a hoax (that came in later official statements)",
        "SLED was brought in to assist with the investigation into the false reports"
      ],
      "characterCount": 121
    }
  ],
  "context": "On the evening of August 24, 2025, USCPD dispatch received two 911 calls within two minutes, at [6:30:42 PM EDT and 6:32:20 PM EDT](https://www.wistv.com/2025/08/25/no-evidence-shooting-found-uscs-campus/), from an unknown male claiming an active shooter was at Thomas Cooper Library on the University of South Carolina's Columbia campus. Both calls included background noise that mimicked gunfire, a tactic designed to make the false report sound more credible. The Carolina Alert system sent a full active shooter notification directing students to evacuate, shelter, and defend themselves. Students in the library and surrounding buildings took cover, [sending frantic texts to family members](https://www.wrdw.com/2025/08/27/usc-students-parents-have-questions-following-swatting-hoax/). By approximately 7:10 PM EDT, police reported finding no evidence of a shooter but continued sweeping the area. The [incident was confirmed as a swatting hoax](https://www.campussafetymagazine.com/news/university-of-south-carolina-swatting-incident-highlights-growing-trend-of-false-active-shooter-reports/173047/), part of a [nationwide wave of false active shooter reports](https://www.cnn.com/2025/08/24/us/university-of-south-carolina-active-shooter-reported) targeting university libraries in late August 2025. SLED and USCPD launched an investigation, and a [Pennsylvania juvenile, a self-identified member of the Purgatory group, was later charged](https://www.postandcourier.com/columbia/news/usc-swatting-hoax-charges-juvenile-sc/article_2cf378c1-656a-460b-91ec-56e5a4d944cf.html) in connection with the USC hoax and a series of 2025 swatting calls at randomly selected universities. Parents and students later questioned whether the university's emergency protocols were adequate for handling swatting incidents.",
  "keyFindings": [
    "The 911 caller used background noise mimicking gunfire to make the false report sound credible, a sophisticated swatting tactic",
    "The Carolina Alert system sent a full active shooter message with Run-Hide-Fight instructions before the hoax was confirmed",
    "The incident was part of the August 2025 nationwide university swatting wave attributed to the extremist group Purgatory"
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "title": "Officials: USC was target of swatting hoax (WIS-TV)",
      "url": "https://www.wistv.com/2025/08/25/no-evidence-shooting-found-uscs-campus/",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "University of South Carolina lifts active shooter alert at Thomas Cooper Library (WLTX)",
      "url": "https://www.wltx.com/article/news/local/usc-issues-alert-for-report-of-active-shooter-near-thomas-cooper-library/101-d7a5c7f8-bac5-4af4-bf72-6e98ce937a16",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "University of South Carolina: Active shooter report was a hoax (CNN)",
      "url": "https://www.cnn.com/2025/08/24/us/university-of-south-carolina-active-shooter-reported",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "USC Swatting Incident Highlights Growing Trend (Campus Safety Magazine)",
      "url": "https://www.campussafetymagazine.com/news/university-of-south-carolina-swatting-incident-highlights-growing-trend-of-false-active-shooter-reports/173047/",
      "type": "other"
    },
    {
      "title": "Juvenile charged for shooting hoax at South Carolina college (Post and Courier)",
      "url": "https://www.postandcourier.com/columbia/news/usc-swatting-hoax-charges-juvenile-sc/article_2cf378c1-656a-460b-91ec-56e5a4d944cf.html",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://x.com/CarolinaAlert/status/1959749529873395945",
      "title": "@CarolinaAlert on X",
      "type": "official-archive",
      "dateAccessed": "2026-07-18"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://x.com/CarolinaAlert/status/1959755127226609697",
      "title": "@CarolinaAlert on X (verbatim raw t.co)",
      "type": "official-archive",
      "dateAccessed": "2026-07-18"
    }
  ],
  "confidence": "medium",
  "tags": [
    "swatting",
    "active-shooter-hoax",
    "purgatory",
    "library",
    "south-carolina",
    "run-hide-fight",
    "simulated-gunfire",
    "public-university"
  ],
  "dateAdded": "2026-04-04",
  "lastUpdated": "2026-07-18",
  "addedBy": "ingestion"
}