{
  "id": "2023-04-09-wake-forest-university-swatting",
  "slug": "wake-forest-university-swatting-2023-04-09",
  "institution": {
    "name": "Wake Forest University",
    "shortName": "WFU",
    "state": "NC",
    "type": "private-r1",
    "alertSystemName": "Wake Alert",
    "enrollment": 9100
  },
  "incident": {
    "date": "2023-04-09",
    "type": "swatting",
    "cleryCategory": "emergency-notification",
    "resolution": "confirmed-hoax",
    "headline": "Active-shooter report near two campus buildings determined to be a swatting call",
    "headlinePublic": "Active-shooter report near two campus buildings determined to be a swatting call",
    "summary": "On Easter Sunday, April 9, 2023, [Wake Forest University](https://inside.wfu.edu/2023/04/swatting-continues-to-plague-college-campuses/) was targeted by a swatting call to Winston-Salem Police claiming an active shooter near Reynolda Hall and Benson University Center. WFU University Police and Winston-Salem PD responded; the call was [determined to be false](https://police.wfu.edu/) and consistent with a swatting attempt. The incident came amid a national wave of campus swatting incidents in spring 2023.",
    "outcome": "No injuries. After WFU University Police and Winston-Salem Police investigated and conducted a visible law enforcement presence, the report was determined to be false and consistent with a swatting attempt. No suspect was identified.",
    "casualties": {
      "killed": 0,
      "injured": 0
    }
  },
  "alerts": [
    {
      "sequence": 1,
      "type": "initial",
      "timestampApprox": "Evening of Easter Sunday, April 9, 2023, before 9:03 p.m. EDT",
      "channel": "sms",
      "verbatimText": "URGENT: WFUPD has responded to reports of shots fired in Reynolda Hall/Benson area. NO SHOTS HAVE BEEN FIRED. No one has been harmed.",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://wfuogb.com/19984/news/wfpd-confirms-no-threat-to-campus/",
      "sourceDescription": "Old Gold & Black (Wake Forest student newspaper) quoting the first Wake Alert verbatim",
      "annotations": [
        "The Winston-Salem Police Department received the swatting call alleging an active shooter and notified Wake Forest University Police, who issued the campus alert",
        "Notable for the unusual two-message structure, the first Wake Alert reported the call but immediately stated 'NO SHOTS HAVE BEEN FIRED,' indicating police had already verified there was no real threat before sending the notification",
        "The locations named (Reynolda Hall and Benson University Center) are central administrative and student union buildings on the Reynolda Campus, both heavily trafficked even on holidays"
      ],
      "characterCount": 133
    },
    {
      "sequence": 2,
      "type": "all-clear",
      "timestampApprox": "Approximately one hour after initial alert on April 9, 2023 (Eastern Time)",
      "channel": "sms",
      "verbatimText": "Wake Alert Emergency Update: University Police, in coordination with the Winston-Salem Police Department, responded to a report of a swatting attempt on the Reynolda campus. The report has been determined to be false and consistent with a swatting call. There is no threat to the campus community.",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://inside.wfu.edu/2023/04/swatting-continues-to-plague-college-campuses/",
      "sourceDescription": "Inside WFU (university editorial site) quoting the Wake Alert Emergency Update verbatim",
      "annotations": [
        "Inside WFU's reporting on the swatting wave reproduced the Wake Alert Emergency Update text, including the phrase 'consistent with a swatting call', language that became WFU's standard framing for these incidents",
        "WFU emphasized in subsequent communications that 'visible law enforcement presence' was deployed even though the report was suspected to be a swatting from the outset",
        "This was Wake Forest's first major swatting incident of the spring 2023 wave that also struck Yale, Harvard, Cornell, and other private universities"
      ],
      "characterCount": 297
    }
  ],
  "context": "On Easter Sunday, April 9, 2023, [Wake Forest University](https://inside.wfu.edu/2023/04/swatting-continues-to-plague-college-campuses/) became the latest victim of a spring 2023 wave of campus swatting incidents that targeted at least a dozen universities including [Yale](https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/17/us/yale-bomb-threat-swatting/index.html), Harvard, Cornell, and Boston University. The Winston-Salem Police Department received a call reporting an active shooter near [Reynolda Hall and Benson University Center](https://police.wfu.edu/), the central administrative building and main student union on the Reynolda Campus. WSPD notified Wake Forest University Police, who issued a Wake Alert and responded with a visible law enforcement presence. After investigation, the report was determined to be false and consistent with a swatting call. The incident occurred within days of similar fake active shooter reports at [Harvard, Cornell, and other elite institutions](https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/09/us/college-swatting-easter-weekend) that same Easter weekend. Wake Forest's University Police published a follow-up note noting that the constancy and similarity of the calls suggested a coordinated effort, and reminded students that the use of FBI and police time on these incidents diverts resources from real emergencies. No suspect was publicly identified for the Wake Forest call.",
  "keyFindings": [
    "Wake Forest's April 9, 2023 swatting was part of an Easter weekend cluster of similar fake active shooter reports at private universities nationwide",
    "The call specifically named two of WFU's most central buildings (Reynolda Hall and Benson University Center) suggesting the caller had at least basic geographic knowledge of campus",
    "As with many campus swatting calls in spring 2023, no suspect was publicly identified, illustrating how difficult these calls are to trace",
    "Wake Forest deployed a visible police presence even though the report was suspected to be a swatting call from the outset"
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "title": "'Swatting' continues to plague college campuses (Inside WFU)",
      "url": "https://inside.wfu.edu/2023/04/swatting-continues-to-plague-college-campuses/",
      "type": "official-archive"
    },
    {
      "title": "University Police (Wake Forest)",
      "url": "https://police.wfu.edu/",
      "type": "official-archive"
    },
    {
      "title": "Wake Alert (Wake Forest University)",
      "url": "https://wakealert.wfu.edu/",
      "type": "official-archive"
    },
    {
      "title": "More than a dozen universities targeted by false active shooter reports (CNN, Sept 2025 retrospective)",
      "url": "https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/01/us/swatter-investigation-active-shooter-hoaxes-universities",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "Old Gold & Black (Wake Forest student newspaper) quoting the first Wake Alert verbatim",
      "url": "https://wfuogb.com/19984/news/wfpd-confirms-no-threat-to-campus/",
      "type": "local-media"
    }
  ],
  "confidence": "high",
  "tags": [
    "swatting",
    "north-carolina",
    "winston-salem",
    "private-r1",
    "easter-2023-swatting-wave",
    "active-shooter-hoax",
    "reynolda-campus"
  ],
  "dateAdded": "2026-05-03",
  "lastUpdated": "2026-07-16",
  "addedBy": "ingestion"
}