Campus Alert Archive
Jefferson

32-Minute Delay: The JeffAlert That Came Too Late for a Murdered Nurse's Coworkers

PAactive shooteremergency notificationmedium confidence
Confirmed Threat

Just after midnight on October 4, 2021, certified nursing assistant Stacey Hayes shot and killed his coworker Anrae James on the ninth floor of the Gibbon Building at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia. Hayes then fled in a U-Haul and later shot two police officers before being taken into custody. JeffAlert text notifications were not sent to hospital staff until approximately 12:44 AM, roughly 32 minutes after the shooting was first reported over police scanners at 12:12 AM, a delay the hospital later acknowledged was caused by process deficiencies and human error.

Alerts
2
Response
32 min
Killed
1
Injured
2
Institution
Thomas Jefferson University
Private R1 · PA
~9,000 studentsJeffAlert
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 ALERTSMS
Approximate reconstruction133 chars
JeffAlert: Active shooter reported at the Gibbon Building near 11th and Sansom streets. Enact emergency procedures. Run, Hide, Fight.

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

This alert was sent approximately 32 minutes after the shooting was first broadcast over police scanners at 12:12 AM EDT; the hospital later admitted process deficiencies and human error caused the delay.
A 'Code Blue' was erroneously activated before the active-shooter notification, drawing a response team to the ninth floor where the shooter had already fled, compounding the response failure.
ALL CLEARSMS
Approximate reconstruction206 chars
JeffAlert: The active shooter situation at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital has been resolved. The suspect is in police custody. Normal operations may resume. Resources are available for those affected.

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

Hayes was located near 40th Street and Parkside Avenue in West Philadelphia around 1:25 AM and apprehended after a gunfight; the formal campus all-clear followed later.
Jefferson subsequently announced it was 'micro-analyzing' security procedures and would add Philadelphia police officers to campus.
Context

Background

Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, the flagship academic medical center of Thomas Jefferson University in Center City Philadelphia, experienced one of the most closely scrutinized hospital-campus shooting failures in recent memory. The Philadelphia Inquirer documented that Stacey Hayes, 55, a Jefferson CNA, drove to the hospital in a U-Haul after midnight, walked to the ninth floor wearing blue scrubs, and shot fellow CNA Anrae James six times at close range in a hallway of the Gibbon Building. Hayes, who was also carrying an AR-15-style rifle and wearing body armor, fled the building before a JeffAlert text was transmitted to staff. NBC10 Philadelphia reported that the shooting appeared on police scanners at 12:12 AM, security told police Hayes had likely left the building by 12:22 AM, but staff were not notified until approximately 12:44 AM. Jefferson publicly admitted the delay, citing process deficiencies and the mistaken activation of a Code Blue rather than a Code Silver active-shooter protocol. Before Hayes was apprehended, he shot two Philadelphia police officers near 40th Street and Parkside Avenue; both survived. CBS Philadelphia reported Jefferson's subsequent remediation steps, which included closing lower-level entrances after daytime hours, adding permanent Philadelphia police presence, and enhanced screening for all who enter the facility.
Analysis

Key Findings

A 32-minute gap between the first police-scanner report and the JeffAlert staff notification left hospital workers in the dark while an armed suspect who had already fled remained at large nearby
An erroneously activated Code Blue medical alert drew responders to the ninth floor before an active-shooter Code Silver was called, illustrating protocol cascades in healthcare settings
The shooter wore scrubs and body armor and entered through normal hospital access routes, highlighting badge-and-access vulnerabilities at large academic medical centers
Both responding police officers survived; only the direct victim, Anrae James, was killed on hospital grounds
Jefferson's post-incident reforms -- adding police, reducing open entrances, enhanced screening -- became a model discussion in hospital security literature
Outcome
Anrae James, 43, was killed. Two Philadelphia police officers, Arcenio Perez and Edwin Perez, sustained non-life-threatening injuries in a subsequent gunfight at 40th Street and Parkside Avenue. Hayes was taken into custody and later found incompetent to stand trial. Jefferson Hospital pledged increased police presence and enhanced screening. Stacey Hayes later pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 35 to 70 years in prison.
Provenance

Sources

  1. News
    Jefferson Hospital officials admit staffers should have known sooner about active shooter on campus
    inquirer.com
  2. News
    Thomas Jefferson University Hospital Admits It Took Too Long to Alert of Active Shooter
    nbcphiladelphia.com
  3. News
    Jefferson University Hospital Details What Went Wrong After Deadly Shooting
    cbsnews.com
  4. News
    Jefferson Hospital Shooting: Suspect sentenced to 35 to 70 years
    fox29.com
  5. News
    Anrae James, killed in Jefferson Hospital shooting, left behind 3 children
    inquirer.com
Tags
active-shooterhospitalacademic-health-centerpennsylvaniaphiladelphiacommunication-failurealert-delaycode-bluecode-silverworkplace-violencehbcu-adjacentemergency-notification
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion