Campus Alert Archive
Cornell

Spring Break 4:30 AM: Cornell Police Wake Jameson Hall Residents to Search for a Gunman Who Was Never There

NYswattingadvisorymedium confidence
Confirmed HoaxDetermined to be a hoax. The institutional response is documented because it reveals how the alert system performed under a perceived real threat.

On April 4, 2023, Cornell University Police received a 2:32 AM swatting call from a male caller claiming he was armed and had injured a woman in Jameson Hall on Cornell's North Campus. Officers responded and woke residents around 4:30 AM during spring break, when most residents were away. CUPD determined within minutes that the report was false, marking the second swatting incident at Cornell that semester.

Alerts
1
Response
—
Killed
0
Injured
0
Institution
Cornell University
Private R1 · NY
~25,000 studentsRave Mobile SafetyCornellALERT
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

1 message in sequence · 1 verified verbatim

FOLLOW-UPEmail
Verified verbatimCornell Daily Sun direct quote of the email from Jameson Hall Residence Hall Director Nicole Wendel-Crowe sent to Jameson residents on behalf of Housing and Residential Life164 chars
While this call was determined to be uncredible, we recognize that this may have impacted some Jameson residents who are residing in the building over spring break.
This excerpt is from the email sent to Jameson Hall residents on the morning of April 4, 2023 by Residence Hall Director Nicole Wendel-Crowe on behalf of Housing and Residential Life — Cornell did not issue a campus-wide CornellALERT in real time
CUPD received the swatting call at 2:32 AM EDT; officers responded to George Jameson Hall and woke residents around 4:30 AM during the early morning hours of spring break when most students were away from campus
Cornell University Police Chief Anthony Bellamy said: 'Cornell Police, like all police, have an obligation to respond to all calls alleging a threat to our community. In this case, we rushed to go to the specific suite the caller mentioned to make sure that no one was injured or being held against their will by someone with a weapon. We then had to search the rest of the building to make sure residents were safe.'
This was the SECOND swatting incident at Cornell in the spring 2023 semester — a pattern that drew media attention to escalating university swatting
Context

Background

In the early morning hours of April 4, 2023, Cornell University Police received a 2:32 AM call from a male caller who claimed to be armed and said he had injured a woman in George Jameson Hall, a residence hall on Cornell's North Campus. Officers from CUPD responded immediately, woke residents around 4:30 AM during spring break when the dorm was largely empty, and conducted a thorough search of the area, finding no victim, no weapon, and no suspect. CUPD determined the call was a swatting attempt — the second such incident at Cornell that semester. The Jameson swatting was part of a coordinated April 2023 wave that hit Clemson, the University of Florida, Boston University, Harvard, the University of Pittsburgh, Rutgers, the University of Oklahoma, Wake Forest, and Middlebury College within a single week. Investigators believed many of the calls were placed by a single international caller using VoIP services to obscure their location. Cornell did not issue a campus-wide emergency alert in real time because the threat was assessed and cleared too quickly, but the incident contributed to a national conversation about whether universities should be sending alerts during unverified threats — particularly given the Pitt incident the following week where the alert came 82 minutes too late.
Analysis

Key Findings

The 2:32 AM call timing — with police response at 4:30 AM during spring break — meant minimal risk to students but maximum disruption for the residents who were on campus
This was the SECOND swatting incident at Cornell in the spring 2023 semester, indicating a sustained pattern of targeting
CUPD did not issue a real-time CornellALERT because the threat was cleared within minutes
The Jameson Hall swatting was part of a coordinated April 2023 wave that hit at least 10 universities in one week
The incident foreshadowed the much larger 2025 Purgatory swatting wave by demonstrating the ease of targeting individual residence halls
Outcome
No injuries occurred. CUPD determined the report was false within minutes after responding. The incident was the second confirmed swatting at Cornell in the spring 2023 semester. No suspect was identified in real time, but the call was part of a broader April 2023 wave hitting Clemson, Florida, BU, Harvard, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Oklahoma, Wake Forest, and Middlebury.
Provenance

Sources

  1. Student Paper
    Jameson Resident 'Swatted' Over Break Amid Rising Incidents Statewide (Cornell Daily Sun)
    cornellsun.com
  2. News
    Cornell Police believe a false report of an armed man was a 'swatting' attempt (14850.com)
    14850.com
  3. News
    Coordinated 'swatting' effort may be behind hundreds of school shooting hoaxes (Washington Post)
    washingtonpost.com
  4. News
    'Swatting' calls reporting fake threats terrorize colleges (Inside Higher Ed)
    insidehighered.com
Tags
swattingcornellithacanew-yorkapril-2023-swatting-wavejameson-hallspring-breakno-real-time-alertprivate-r1voip-spoofed-callHoax
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion