Campus Alert Archive
NAU

700 Out of 18,000: A Human Error Left 96% of Campus in the Dark After a Fatal Shooting

AZshootingemergency notificationmedium confidence
Confirmed Threat

A confrontation between two groups of students outside Mountain View Hall at 1:20 AM ended when freshman Steven Jones opened fire, killing one student and injuring three others. The NAU Alert system failed to reach the full campus due to a dispatcher's error, sending the initial notification to only 700 of 18,000 registered recipients.

Alerts
2
Response
min
Killed
1
Injured
3
Institution
Northern Arizona University
Public R2 · AZ
~29,000 studentsNAU Alert
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

2 messages in sequence · 1 verified verbatim

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 ALERTSMS
Approximate reconstruction112 chars
NAU ALERT: Shots fired on north campus near Mountain View Hall. Suspect in custody. Stay indoors and lock doors.

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

Due to human error, this alert was sent to only approximately 700 of 18,000 registered recipients
The dispatcher selected individual groups but failed to click the 'all users' checkbox, which was positioned separately from the other options
The Mountain View Hall residence director who received this alert immediately activated the building's public address system to warn residents
ALL CLEARSMS
Verified verbatimKNAU Arizona Public Radio reporting that quotes the verbatim 2:52 AM MST NAU Alert text63 chars
Situation stabilized and shooter in custody. Details to follow.
This was the first message sent to the full 18,000-person distribution list, arriving roughly 90 minutes after the shooting
For most of the campus community, this all-clear was the first notification they received about the incident
'Shooter in custody' is unambiguous and operational, but 'Details to follow' postpones location and casualty information that the community would want immediately
The short 64-character message reflects the SMS-first design constraint of the NAU Alert system
Context

Background

The October 9, 2015 shooting at Northern Arizona University occurred in a parking lot near Mountain View Hall on the Flagstaff campus at approximately 1:20 AM. A confrontation between two groups of students escalated when freshman Steven Jones, 18, pulled a handgun and fired on the other group. Colin Brough was killed, and Nicholas Prato, Kyle Zientek, and Nicholas Piring were injured and transported to Flagstaff Medical Center. Jones was arrested at the scene by campus police. The incident exposed a critical vulnerability in NAU's emergency notification system. The dispatcher tasked with sending the NAU Alert selected multiple recipient groups but failed to click the separately positioned 'all users' checkbox. As a result, only about 700 of 18,000 registered users received the initial alert. The Mountain View Hall residence director, who was among the 700 recipients, reacted quickly by calling police and activating the building's public address system. It was not until 2:52 AM, roughly 90 minutes later, that a corrected alert reached the full campus community. The university attributed the error to interface design: the 'all users' option was visually separated from the other checkboxes and was the least frequently used option.
Analysis

Key Findings

Initial NAU Alert reached only 700 of 18,000 registered users due to dispatcher clicking individual groups instead of 'all users'
The 'all users' checkbox was positioned separately and was the least-used option, creating a design-driven failure point
Residence hall director who received the partial alert immediately activated the PA system, providing a critical backup notification
Full campus notification did not go out until 2:52 AM, approximately 90 minutes after the shooting
Outcome
Shooter Steven Jones was arrested on scene. One student, Colin Brough, was killed. Three others were hospitalized with injuries. Jones was later convicted of manslaughter.
Provenance

Sources

  1. News
    Human Error Prevented NAU Alert From Reaching Entire Campus After Shooting - KNAU
    knau.org
  2. Official
    Statement from Northern Arizona University regarding shooting on campus - NAU Review
    news.nau.edu
  3. Student Paper
    NAU Alerts: Why you didn't get the first texts - Jack Central
    jackcentral.org
  4. News
    Shooting At Northern Arizona University Campus: 1 Dead, 3 Injured - NPR
    npr.org
Tags
shootingalert-failurehuman-errornotification-systempartial-distributionresidence-hall2015
Added April 2026Updated April 2026Via ingestion