Campus Alert Archive
OU

23 Calls in 90 Minutes: An International Swatting Attack Brings 100 Officers to OU's South Oval

OKswattingemergency notificationhigh 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 7, 2023, the University of Oklahoma was targeted by a swatting attack originating from outside the United States, with 23 fake 911 calls in approximately 90 minutes reporting an active shooter near the South Oval and Bizzell Memorial Library. More than 100 law enforcement officers responded before the all-clear was issued at 10:53 PM CDT.

Alerts
3
Response
—
Killed
0
Injured
0
Institution
University of Oklahoma
Public R1 · OK
~32,000 studentsOU Alert
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

3 messages in sequence · 3 verified verbatim

INITIAL ALERTTwitter/X
Verified verbatim@UofOklahoma official Twitter/X post (verbatim)115 chars
OU-Norman Emergency: There is an active shooter at the Van Vleet Oval. Take immediate action now. Run. Hide. Fight!
Posted verbatim by @UofOklahoma on X/Twitter at 9:25 PM CDT on April 7, 2023, matching the simultaneous Rave Alert push notification
Van Vleet Oval is the formal name for the academic green commonly referred to as the South Oval at OU's Norman campus
The terse 'Run. Hide. Fight!' protocol is the federal active-shooter response framework adopted by most US universities after Virginia Tech
The 'OU-Norman Emergency:' prefix is OU's standard alert template branding
UPDATETwitter/X+20 min
Verified verbatim@UofOklahoma official Twitter/X post (verbatim)125 chars
OU-NORMAN Emergency 9:45pm OUPD investigating possible shots fired on Norman campus. Avoid South Oval area. Shelter in place.
Posted verbatim by @UofOklahoma on X/Twitter at 9:45 PM CDT on April 7, 2023, mirroring the simultaneous Rave Alert push notification
The embedded '9:45pm' timestamp matches OU's Rave template convention — the time is part of the message body, not just the metadata
Note the location shift: the initial alert specified Van Vleet Oval (the formal name); this update uses the colloquial 'South Oval' that students would recognize
More than 100 law enforcement officers from multiple agencies were converging on campus as this update went out
ALL CLEARTwitter/X+1h 28m
Verified verbatim@UofOklahoma official Twitter/X post (verbatim)158 chars
OU-NORMAN Critical 10:53pm: OUPD has issued an ALL CLEAR. After a thorough search, no threat was found. There is no threat to campus. Alert has been canceled.
Posted verbatim by @UofOklahoma on X/Twitter at 10:53 PM CDT on April 7, 2023, exactly 88 minutes after the initial active-shooter alert
Notable severity shift: the prefix changes from 'Emergency' to 'Critical' — OU's template appears to use 'Critical' for confirmed-resolution messages
Triple-layered reassurance: 'no threat was found' + 'no threat to campus' + 'Alert has been canceled' — written for an audience that had been sheltering in fear for 90 minutes
OU President Harroz later confirmed the incident was a swatting attack with calls from outside the US
Context

Background

On the evening of April 7, 2023, the University of Oklahoma was targeted by a swatting attack in which multiple fake 911 calls reported an active shooter near the South Oval and Bizzell Memorial Library on the Norman campus. The first calls came in at approximately 9:24 PM CDT, and a Rave Alert was immediately sent to the campus community. Released 911 recordings revealed 23 calls over approximately 90 minutes, with four calls arriving in the first 15 minutes alone. More than 100 law enforcement officers from multiple agencies responded and conducted thorough searches of the area. After finding no evidence of a shooting, OUPD issued the all-clear at 10:53 PM CDT. OU President Joseph Harroz confirmed the incident was a swatting attack, stating the calls originated from outside the United States. The incident caused real trauma despite being a hoax, with students describing the terror of sheltering in place during what they believed was an active shooter event.
Analysis

Key Findings

The swatting attack involved 23 separate 911 calls over 90 minutes, an unusually sustained and coordinated hoax
More than 100 law enforcement officers responded, demonstrating the massive resource cost of swatting incidents
The calls originated from outside the United States, making prosecution difficult
Outcome
After a thorough search including Bizzell Memorial Library and surrounding areas, no evidence of a shooting or criminal activity was found. OU President Joseph Harroz confirmed the incident was a swatting attack with calls originating from outside the country. No arrests were made.
Provenance

Sources

  1. Official
    @UofOklahoma official Twitter/X post (initial alert)
    x.com
  2. Official
    @UofOklahoma official Twitter/X post (9:45pm update)
    x.com
  3. Official
    @UofOklahoma official Twitter/X post (10:53pm all-clear)
    x.com
  4. News
    Fake active shooter calls on OU campus referred to as swatting incident (KOSU)
    kosu.org
  5. Student Paper
    Swatting incident at OU: 911 calls released, timeline revealed (OU Daily)
    oudaily.com
  6. News
    OU President says university was victim of swatting (Fox 25 OKC)
    okcfox.com
  7. News
    OU's swatting event was a hoax, but the trauma it caused was real (KGOU)
    kgou.org
Tags
swattinghoaxfalse-alarmactive-shooter-false-reportoklahomapublic-universityinternational-originmass-law-enforcement-responseHoax
Added April 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion