Campus Alert Archive
LIT

An 'AR-15 in the IT Department' Hoax Sends LIT Students to the Beaumont Civic Center

TXswattingemergency notificationmedium 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.

Lamar Institute of Technology in Beaumont evacuated its campus on April 13, 2023, after a hoax call claiming a person with an AR-15-style rifle was entering the IT department, one of at least eight Texas colleges swatted that morning. Beaumont police received the call just before 10:20 a.m. CDT and helped Lamar police check buildings, finding no weapons. Students and staff were notified by email to evacuate to the Beaumont Civic Center; classes were canceled and the campus closed for the day.

Alerts
2
Response
—
Killed
—
Injured
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Institution
Lamar Institute of Technology
Technical College · TX
~3,000 studentsLIT Alert
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

2 messages in sequence

Some alert texts below are approximate reconstructions from news coverage, not confirmed verbatim transcripts. Reconstructed texts are shown in italic with a dashed border. Verified verbatim texts have a solid border and are marked accordingly.

INITIAL ALERTEmail
Approximate reconstruction178 chars
LIT Alert: A threat has been reported on campus. All individuals need to evacuate immediately and proceed to the Beaumont Civic Center. Do not return until an all clear is given.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Reconstructed wording; the exact LIT Alert text could not be confirmed verbatim, but coverage reported students and staff were emailed to evacuate and head to the Beaumont Civic Center.
Unlike campuses that ordered shelter-in-place, LIT chose full evacuation, sending people off-site to a designated reunification point.
ALL CLEAREmail
Approximate reconstruction180 chars
LIT Alert: All clear. Police checked all buildings and found no weapons. The reported threat was a hoax. Classes are canceled and the campus is closed for the remainder of the day.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Reconstructed all-clear; this lifts the threat status while noting the campus stayed closed for the rest of the day, matching reporting that classes were canceled.
Sergeant Swope confirmed both calls were a hoax, part of the statewide swatting surge that drew an FBI investigation.
Context

Background

Lamar Institute of Technology is a public technical college in Beaumont. On April 13, 2023, it was one of at least eight Texas colleges and universities hit by hoax active-shooter calls in a coordinated swatting wave that also struck Del Mar College, Tyler Junior College, Texas Wesleyan, Collin College, Galen College of Nursing, Texas A&M, and Baylor. Just before 10:20 a.m. CDT, Beaumont police received notice that a person with an AR-15-style rifle was going into the IT department at LIT. Officers helped Lamar police check the buildings and found no weapons. Students and staff were emailed to evacuate to the Beaumont Civic Center, and classes were canceled and the campus closed for the rest of the day. TIME reported the spring 2023 hoaxes set off alarms on campuses nationwide, and the FBI treated the swatting calls as a serious crime that endangered responders and students alike.
Analysis

Key Findings

LIT evacuated its Beaumont campus to the Civic Center on April 13, 2023, over a hoax 'AR-15 in the IT department' call
The technical college was one of at least eight Texas campuses swatted that morning
LIT chose full evacuation and a same-day campus closure rather than shelter-in-place
Outcome
Beaumont and Lamar police searched the buildings and found no weapons. The threat was confirmed as a hoax; classes were canceled and the campus closed for the rest of the day with no injuries.
Provenance

Sources

  1. News
    Reports of active shooter at Lamar Institute of Technology deemed to be hoax - 12NewsNow
    12newsnow.com
  2. News
    8 Texas colleges and universities receive hoax calls about active shooter Thursday morning - KIII-TV
    kiiitv.com
  3. Source
    Active Shooter Hoaxes Set Off Alarms on College Campuses - TIME
    time.com
Tags
swattingactive-shooter-hoaxtexastechnical-collegebeaumontevacuationemergency-notificationconfirmed-hoax2023-texas-swatting-waveHoax
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion