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Utah
Caller claimed a stabbing and rifle in a dormitory; room-by-room search found nothing
AI-generated · every claim is source-linkedConfirmed HoaxDetermined to be a hoax. The institutional response is documented because it reveals how the alert system performed under a perceived real threat.
On November 12, 2025, a caller identifying himself as 'Jonathan Smith' told Salt Lake City Police he had stabbed his girlfriend 20 times and had an assault rifle at Kahlert Village, a freshman dormitory at the University of Utah. Police evacuated and searched the building room by room, finding no victim or threat. The incident was classified as a swatting hoax.
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- 2
- Response
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- Killed
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- Injured
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~35,000 studentsCampus Alert
Official alert policy
Read when and how Utah says it will use Campus Alert (alert.utah.edu): summarized, quoted, and analyzed.
Documented Timeline
Alert Sequence
2 messages in sequence · 1 verified verbatim
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Verified verbatim108 chars
Swatting incident at Kahlert Village was not a credible threat. More info in email and at trusted link below
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Daily Utah Chronicle quoting the official U of U safety alert textdailyutahchronicle.comfind archived copiesSent at 9:48 PM MST on November 12, 2025, about 41 minutes after Police Chief Carver and President Randall confirmed swatting at a 9:07 PM MST press conference
Notably terse for a campus-wide alert resolving a multi-hour shelter-in-place, students later criticized the lag between resolution and notification
The 'trusted link below' refers to the @theU campus communications page where a fuller explanation followed
Context
Background
On the evening of November 12, 2025, Salt Lake City Police received a call on their non-emergency administrative line from someone who identified himself as 'Jonathan Smith.' The caller claimed he had stabbed his girlfriend 20 times and possessed an assault rifle, threatening to 'shoot up the school' if police did not respond within 20 minutes. University of Utah Police received notice from SLCPD at 7:31 PM MST. Officers responded to Kahlert Village, a freshman dormitory at 265 South 1850 East, and evacuated students to surrounding buildings where they sheltered in place. A large search team conducted a floor-by-floor, room-by-room sweep of the building and found nothing suspicious. The caller had used a computer-based system to make the call difficult to trace, but investigators planned to use technology from other agencies, including the FBI, to identify the suspect. Students were allowed back into their dorms that evening. Unlike the August 2025 Purgatory wave that targeted campus libraries, this incident targeted a residence hall with a more elaborate false narrative.
Analysis
Key Findings
The caller used a non-emergency line and a computer-based system to disguise the call's origin, making it harder to trace
Unlike most Purgatory-wave calls that targeted libraries, this incident targeted a freshman dormitory with an elaborate false stabbing narrative
Police conducted a full room-by-room search of the residential building before clearing the incident
Outcome
A systematic floor-by-floor, room-by-room search found no victim, no suspect, and no credible threat. Students were allowed to return to their dorms that evening. The caller used a computer-based system to make the call difficult to trace.
Reception
Community Response
How the campus community received and interpreted the alert(s), in their own words.
Poorly received
Students sheltering in Kahlert Village saw dozens of officers but got no university alert until the incident was over; U public-safety officials later acknowledged the need for better emergency communication.
“And then I got a message like two hours later, saying it was swatting and that it was over.”
Reactions to the alert, drawn from press coverage; follow each link to verify. Quotes are reproduced from reporting and not independently re-confirmed against the original source.
Provenance
Sources
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Cite this case
Campus Alert Archive. "University of Utah: Caller claimed a stabbing and rifle in a dormitory; room-by-room search found nothing." Incident of November 12, 2025. Added May 2026; last updated June 2026. https://campusalertarchive.com/case/university-of-utah-swatting-2025-11-12/
Alert text quoted on this page remains the work of the issuing institution; the archive is a secondary source.
Tags
swattingdorm-targetedutahkahlert-villageelaborate-hoaxroom-by-room-searchfbi-investigationcomputer-spoofed-callHoax
Added May 2026Updated June 2026Via ingestion