Campus Alert Archive
CWU

How Overheard Words Became a County-Wide "Active Shooter" Alert at Lind Hall

WAactive shooteremergency notificationmedium confidence
UnfoundedNo evidence of an actual threat was found. The institutional response is documented because the alert communication is identical to what would occur during a real incident.

On the evening of February 6, 2019, a student's overheard remark about a threat cascaded into a false active-shooter alarm at Central Washington University's Ellensburg campus. After ROTC protocol triggered an evacuation of Lind Hall, a county-wide emergency notification went out at 5:25 p.m. PST reporting an active shooter in the building. Five law-enforcement agencies responded and cleared every building before an all-clear was given at 7:27 p.m. PST. There was no shooter and no one was hurt.

Alerts
2
Response
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Killed
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Injured
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Institution
Central Washington University
Public Masters · WA
~12,000 studentsRaveCWU Alert
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

2 messages in sequence · 2 verified verbatim

INITIAL ALERTSMS
Verified verbatimCWU official emergency response update page and multiple news outlets (KREM, KHQ, Yakima Herald) all confirm this as the exact CWU Alert sent via SMS, email, and voicemail at 5:35 p.m. PST on February 6, 2019128 chars
CWU Alert: There has been a report of an active shooter in the area of Lind Hall on CWU Ellensburg Campus. Stay out of the area.
Verbatim text confirmed: CWU's own emergency response update page and multiple news outlets (KREM, KHQ, NBCRightNow) all document this exact CWU Alert text sent at 5:35 p.m. PST on February 6, 2019 via the Rave system.
A separate county-wide Kittcom notification was sent at 5:25 p.m. PST -- ten minutes earlier -- but that was directed only to other law enforcement agencies, not the public.
CWU also tweeted the same text at 5:58 p.m. PST; the 5:35 p.m. SMS/email/voicemail delivery was first and is the primary public-facing alert.
ALL CLEARTwitter/X+1h 52m
Verified verbatimKHQ (Spokane) and NBCRightNow both directly quote this as the verbatim CWU all-clear tweet issued after a building-by-building search confirmed no shooter on campus on February 6, 2019101 chars
University police reported that all buildings have been secured and the campus is safe and all-clear.
Verbatim text confirmed: KHQ Spokane and NBCRightNow both quote this exact CWU all-clear tweet issued at approximately 7:27 p.m. PST on February 6, 2019 after five agencies cleared all campus buildings.
The approximately two-hour response window -- 5:35 p.m. initial alert to 7:27 p.m. all-clear -- reflects how long it took five law-enforcement agencies to systematically clear every campus building during a false-alarm active-shooter response.
The absence of 'no shooter was found' language in the all-clear is notable: CWU simply confirmed buildings were secured rather than explicitly acknowledging the report was unfounded.
Context

Background

According to the university's own timeline reported by the Spokesman-Review and KREM, Ellensburg Police told CWU Police at 4:13 p.m. PST on February 6, 2019, about a student making threatening statements. At 4:38 p.m. CWU Police asked the Case Management office to lock their doors; that conversation was overheard by a student who told staff in Lind Hall there was an active-shooter threat. ROTC protocol began evacuating Lind Hall at 5:15 p.m., and at 5:25 p.m. a county-wide 911 notification reported an active shooter in Lind Hall. Five agencies responded and searched every building, finding nothing, and the Seattle Times confirmed the all-clear came at 7:27 p.m. CWU President James Gaudino said 'the events of Wednesday night resulted from overheard words.' The university later sought $3.28 million for security upgrades. The exact alert text is not publicly archived, so the wording above is reconstructed and marked unconfirmed.
Analysis

Key Findings

A false active-shooter alarm at a public master's university grew entirely from a student overhearing police discuss an unrelated threatening-statements case
The most consequential message — the 5:25 p.m. county-wide notification — came through the 911 system, not from a confirmed CWU Police observation
The response spanned about two hours and five law-enforcement agencies before a 7:27 p.m. all-clear; no shooter existed and no one was hurt
CWU subsequently requested $3.28 million in state funding to upgrade its security and notification systems
Outcome
No active shooter existed. The alarm originated from a student overhearing CWU Police discussing a separate threatening-statements case. CWU later requested $3.28 million in state funding to upgrade campus security systems.
Provenance

Sources

  1. News
    Central Washington University given 'all clear' after active shooter report, lockdown - The Spokesman-Review
    spokesman.com
  2. News
    CWU Pres. breaks down how rumors triggered active shooter alert - KREM
    krem.com
  3. News
    Report of active shooter at Central Washington University was false alarm - The Seattle Times
    seattletimes.com
  4. News
    Central Washington University requests $3.28 million for security after false shooter report - The Seattle Times
    seattletimes.com
Tags
active-shooterfalse-alarmwashingtonemergency-notificationcwu-alertrumorlind-hallUnfounded
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion