{
  "id": "2025-09-11-virginia-state-university-swatting",
  "slug": "virginia-state-university-swatting-2025-09-11",
  "institution": {
    "name": "Virginia State University",
    "shortName": "VSU",
    "state": "VA",
    "type": "hbcu",
    "alertSystemName": "VSU Alert",
    "enrollment": 5500
  },
  "incident": {
    "date": "2025-09-11",
    "type": "swatting",
    "cleryCategory": "emergency-notification",
    "resolution": "confirmed-hoax",
    "headline": "Lockdown after a 'potential threat'; FBI classified the coordinated threats a hoax",
    "headlinePublic": "Lockdown after a 'potential threat'; FBI classified the coordinated threats a hoax",
    "summary": "On September 11, 2025, [Virginia State University in Petersburg](https://www.vpm.org/news/2025-09-11/vsu-hampton-campus-lockdowns-potential-threats-petersburg-carpenter-riley) went on lockdown around 8:20 AM EDT after receiving what officials called a 'potential threat,' canceling all classes and campus activities for the day. The lockdown was lifted shortly after 1 PM, and the [FBI later classified the threat as a hoax](https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/11/us/hbcu-lockdown-potential-threats) targeting multiple HBCUs simultaneously.",
    "outcome": "No injuries occurred and no threat was found. VSU canceled all September 11 classes and activities. Lockdown was lifted around 1 PM EDT. The FBI confirmed the threats against VSU and other HBCUs were a coordinated hoax.",
    "casualties": {
      "killed": 0,
      "injured": 0
    }
  },
  "alerts": [
    {
      "sequence": 1,
      "type": "initial",
      "channel": "twitter-x",
      "verbatimText": "URGENT ALERT!!!\nVSU CAMPUS IS CLOSED TODAY.\nSTUDENTS, FACULTY AND STAFF CHECK YOUR VSU EMAILS.",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceDescription": "@VSUPolice on X (verbatim)",
      "annotations": [
        "Confirmed from official @VSUPolice X (raw_text/OCR).",
        "Official @VSUPolice Campus Alert graphic; exact text including triple exclamation"
      ],
      "characterCount": 94,
      "sourceUrl": "https://x.com/VSUPolice/status/1966119108929278092",
      "timestamp": "2025-09-11T08:38:18-04:00"
    },
    {
      "sequence": 2,
      "type": "update",
      "timestamp": "2025-09-11T10:38:42-04:00",
      "channel": "twitter-x",
      "verbatimText": "VSU RECIEVED A THREAT TO OUR CAMPUS.\nOUT OF AN ABUNDANCE OF CAUTION, VSU REMAINS ON LOCKDOWN.\nPLEASE CONTINUE TO CHECK YOUR VSU EMAILS FOR UPDATES.",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://x.com/VSUPolice/status/1966149407763812418",
      "sourceDescription": "@VSUPolice on X (verbatim)",
      "annotations": [
        "Confirmed from official @VSUPolice X (raw_text/OCR).",
        "Official @VSUPolice graphic preserves misspelling RECIEVED"
      ],
      "characterCount": 147
    },
    {
      "sequence": 3,
      "type": "update",
      "timestamp": "2025-09-11T13:28:00-04:00",
      "channel": "twitter-x",
      "verbatimText": "🚨Campus Lockdown Update🚨\n\nVSU Police has lifted the campus lockdown with restrictions. Entry to campus is limited to faculty, staff and students with a valid VSU identification card only.",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://x.com/VSUPolice/status/1966192067786453501",
      "sourceDescription": "@VSUPolice on X (verbatim raw t.co)",
      "annotations": [
        "The 'lifted with restrictions' framing is typical of partial-all-clear messages: the immediate threat is cleared but the campus was not yet fully open to the public",
        "Classes and activities remained canceled through the rest of September 11; normal operations resumed September 12"
      ],
      "characterCount": 189
    },
    {
      "sequence": 4,
      "type": "follow-up",
      "timestampApprox": "Evening of September 11, 2025 EDT, after the lockdown was lifted",
      "channel": "email",
      "verbatimText": "Today, Virginia State University—along with several other Historically Black Colleges and Universities—received a threat intended to disrupt, intimidate, and instill fear in our community. In response, we took immediate action, including a temporary campus lockdown, which has since been lifted with restrictions. Thankfully, no injuries or incidents were reported. Let us be clear: these threats are not random. They are targeted attacks on institutions that have long stood as pillars of excellence, empowerment, and progress. HBCUs exist because we refused to be denied an education—and we thrive because we continue to rise in the face of adversity. To those who seek to silence or scare us: we will not be intimidated. For over a century, Virginia State University and other HBCUs have stood as a beacon of knowledge, excellence, and resilience. Thank you for your patience, vigilance, and unity. Together, we are—and always will be—GREATER.",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://www.vsu.edu/news/2025/letter-from-the-vsu-president-regarding-campus-threat-on-september-11.php",
      "sourceDescription": "Verbatim from the official letter by VSU President Dr. Makola M. Abdullah, posted to vsu.edu/news on September 11, 2025",
      "annotations": [
        "Abdullah's letter was published to the official VSU news page the same evening as the lockdown",
        "The phrase 'we will not be intimidated' was widely quoted in national coverage of the September 11, 2025 HBCU hoax wave",
        "Abdullah explicitly named the September 11 threats as 'targeted attacks' on HBCUs, framing them in civil-rights terms rather than as random swatting"
      ],
      "characterCount": 946
    }
  ],
  "context": "On the morning of September 11, 2025, [Virginia State University](https://www.vsu.edu/news/2025/vsu-issues-lockdown,-all-september-11-classes-and-activities-canceled.php) in Petersburg, Virginia became one of at least seven HBCUs to receive coordinated hoax threats that morning. The university's lockdown began [around 8:20 AM EDT](https://www.vpm.org/news/2025-09-11/vsu-hampton-campus-lockdowns-potential-threats-petersburg-carpenter-riley) when officials received a 'potential threat' to campus safety. President Makola M. Abdullah issued a campus-wide lockdown, canceling all classes and events for the day. Trojan Police Department officers conducted a thorough sweep of campus while parents and students [waited anxiously for updates](https://www.wric.com/news/local-news/chesterfield-county/im-going-to-get-to-him-virginia-state-university-parent-reacts-after-lockdown-on-sept-11/). Spokesperson Gwen Williams confirmed the lockdown was lifted shortly after 1 PM EDT, with [no injuries reported](https://www.13newsnow.com/article/news/local/mycity/hampton/virginia-hampton-university-potential-threat-cancels-classes/291-d723efff-77b2-4c7e-bcbb-a74cf085b748). Later that evening, the [FBI confirmed the threats were a hoax](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/alabama-state-virginia-state-hbcus-lockdown-rcna230642) targeting Hampton, VSU, Bethune-Cookman, Alabama State, Spelman, Clark Atlanta, Southern University, and other HBCUs. The incident occurred against a backdrop of heightened campus security concerns following the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University the previous day. VSU President Abdullah issued a [letter to the campus community](https://www.wtvr.com/news/local-news/virginia-state-university-threat-sept-11-2025) saying 'We will not be intimidated' and committing to ongoing vigilance.",
  "keyFindings": [
    "VSU was one of the first HBCUs to lockdown on September 11, 2025, with the order issued at approximately 8:20 AM EDT",
    "The university canceled all classes and campus activities for the day, going beyond shelter-in-place to a full operational shutdown",
    "FBI later classified the coordinated threats against VSU and other HBCUs as a hoax",
    "The threats came one day after the assassination of Charlie Kirk at UVU, amplifying concerns",
    "VSU President's defiant 'We will not be intimidated' statement reflected the broader pattern of HBCU leadership responses"
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "title": "Virginia State University Issues Lockdown, All September 11 Classes And Activities Canceled (VSU Official)",
      "url": "https://www.vsu.edu/news/2025/vsu-issues-lockdown,-all-september-11-classes-and-activities-canceled.php",
      "type": "official-archive"
    },
    {
      "title": "Virginia State University went into lockdown after 'potential threat' (VPM)",
      "url": "https://www.vpm.org/news/2025-09-11/vsu-hampton-campus-lockdowns-potential-threats-petersburg-carpenter-riley",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "HBCU's under lockdown, including Virginia State University, after receiving threats (CNN)",
      "url": "https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/11/us/hbcu-lockdown-potential-threats",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "'We will not be intimidated,' Virginia State president says after HBCUs receive threats (WTVR)",
      "url": "https://www.wtvr.com/news/local-news/virginia-state-university-threat-sept-11-2025",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "HBCUs nationwide lift lockdowns after canceling classes following threats (NBC News)",
      "url": "https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/alabama-state-virginia-state-hbcus-lockdown-rcna230642",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "FBI calls threats at Hampton University and other HBCUs a 'hoax' (13News Now)",
      "url": "https://www.13newsnow.com/article/news/local/mycity/hampton/virginia-hampton-university-potential-threat-cancels-classes/291-d723efff-77b2-4c7e-bcbb-a74cf085b748",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "VSU Police Campus Lockdown Update, lockdown lifted with restrictions (@VSUPolice on X)",
      "url": "https://x.com/VSUPolice/status/1966192067786453501",
      "type": "official-social"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://x.com/VSUPolice/status/1966119108929278092",
      "type": "official-social",
      "title": "@VSUPolice URGENT ALERT campus closed graphic"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://x.com/VSUPolice/status/1966149407763812418",
      "type": "official-social",
      "title": "@VSUPolice RECIEVED threat lockdown graphic"
    },
    {
      "title": "Verbatim from the official letter by VSU President Dr. Makola M. Abdullah, posted to vsu.edu/news on September 11, 2025",
      "url": "https://www.vsu.edu/news/2025/letter-from-the-vsu-president-regarding-campus-threat-on-september-11.php",
      "type": "official-archive"
    }
  ],
  "confidence": "high",
  "tags": [
    "swatting",
    "hbcu",
    "september-11-2025-hbcu-wave",
    "virginia",
    "petersburg",
    "lockdown",
    "fbi-hoax",
    "racially-targeted",
    "post-charlie-kirk",
    "verbatim-presidential-letter"
  ],
  "dateAdded": "2026-05-03",
  "lastUpdated": "2026-07-18",
  "addedBy": "ingestion"
}