Campus Alert Archive
WFU

Easter Sunday Swatting at Wake Forest: 'Active Shooter' Reported Near Reynolda Hall and Benson Center

NCswattingemergency 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 Easter Sunday, April 9, 2023, Wake Forest University was targeted by a swatting call to Winston-Salem Police claiming an active shooter near Reynolda Hall and Benson University Center. WFU University Police and Winston-Salem PD responded; the call was determined to be false and consistent with a swatting attempt. The incident came amid a national wave of campus swatting incidents in spring 2023.

Alerts
2
Response
—
Killed
0
Injured
0
Institution
Wake Forest University
Private R1 · NC
~9,100 studentsWake Alert
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

2 messages in sequence · 2 verified verbatim

INITIAL ALERTSMS
Verified verbatimOld Gold & Black (Wake Forest student newspaper) quoting the first Wake Alert verbatim133 chars
URGENT: WFUPD has responded to reports of shots fired in Reynolda Hall/Benson area. NO SHOTS HAVE BEEN FIRED. No one has been harmed.
The Winston-Salem Police Department received the swatting call alleging an active shooter and notified Wake Forest University Police, who issued the campus alert
Notable for the unusual two-message structure — the first Wake Alert reported the call but immediately stated 'NO SHOTS HAVE BEEN FIRED,' indicating police had already verified there was no real threat before sending the notification
The locations named — Reynolda Hall and Benson University Center — are central administrative and student union buildings on the Reynolda Campus, both heavily trafficked even on holidays
ALL CLEARSMS
Verified verbatimInside WFU (university editorial site) quoting the Wake Alert Emergency Update verbatim297 chars
Wake Alert Emergency Update: University Police, in coordination with the Winston-Salem Police Department, responded to a report of a swatting attempt on the Reynolda campus. The report has been determined to be false and consistent with a swatting call. There is no threat to the campus community.
Inside WFU's reporting on the swatting wave reproduced the Wake Alert Emergency Update text, including the phrase 'consistent with a swatting call' — language that became WFU's standard framing for these incidents
WFU emphasized in subsequent communications that 'visible law enforcement presence' was deployed even though the report was suspected to be a swatting from the outset
This was Wake Forest's first major swatting incident of the spring 2023 wave that also struck Yale, Harvard, Cornell, and other private universities
Context

Background

On Easter Sunday, April 9, 2023, Wake Forest University became the latest victim of a spring 2023 wave of campus swatting incidents that targeted at least a dozen universities including Yale, Harvard, Cornell, and Boston University. The Winston-Salem Police Department received a call reporting an active shooter near Reynolda Hall and Benson University Center — the central administrative building and main student union on the Reynolda Campus. WSPD notified Wake Forest University Police, who issued a Wake Alert and responded with a visible law enforcement presence. After investigation, the report was determined to be false and consistent with a swatting call. The incident occurred within days of similar fake active shooter reports at Harvard, Cornell, and other elite institutions that same Easter weekend. Wake Forest's University Police published a follow-up note noting that the constancy and similarity of the calls suggested a coordinated effort, and reminded students that the use of FBI and police time on these incidents diverts resources from real emergencies. No suspect was publicly identified for the Wake Forest call.
Analysis

Key Findings

Wake Forest's April 9, 2023 swatting was part of an Easter weekend cluster of similar fake active shooter reports at private universities nationwide
The call specifically named two of WFU's most central buildings — Reynolda Hall and Benson University Center — suggesting the caller had at least basic geographic knowledge of campus
Like nearly every campus swatting in spring 2023, no suspect was publicly identified — illustrating how difficult these calls are to trace
Wake Forest's response model — visible police presence even when swatting was suspected — became standard practice nationwide
Outcome
No injuries. After WFU University Police and Winston-Salem Police investigated and conducted a visible law enforcement presence, the report was determined to be false and consistent with a swatting attempt. No suspect was identified.
Provenance

Sources

  1. Official
    'Swatting' continues to plague college campuses (Inside WFU)
    inside.wfu.edu
  2. Official
    University Police (Wake Forest)
    police.wfu.edu
  3. Official
    Wake Alert (Wake Forest University)
    wakealert.wfu.edu
  4. News
    More than a dozen universities targeted by false active shooter reports (CNN, Sept 2025 retrospective)
    cnn.com
Tags
swattingnorth-carolinawinston-salemprivate-r1easter-2023-swatting-waveactive-shooter-hoaxreynolda-campusHoax
Added May 2026Updated June 2026Via ingestion