‘Swatting’ calls hit Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood and West Palm Beach colleges

David J. Neal
·3 min read
2

At least four South Florida schools of higher learning — in Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood and West Palm Beach — were disrupted Tuesday morning by false reports of shooting threats on campus.

Across the state, the University of South Florida’s Sarasota-Manatee campus also was hit with a “swatting” call around 11:30 a.m. In South Florida, the stress started about 2 1/2 hours earlier.

Here is a look at what happened at the campuses:

FIU

A “dangerous situation” alert ordering the evacuation of Florida International University’s main campus went out Tuesday morning, putting the West Miami-Dade campus on edge until police started to give clearance 13 minutes later.

An “all clear” was broadcast about 46 minutes after an emailed, texted and posted alert said, “A dangerous situation is occurring on or near campus! Evacuate the area NOW.”

An email from FIU Police Chief Alexander Casas said Miami-Dade police’s communications bureau sent FIU police a message about a reported shooting at the Academic Health Center 3 building. As officers from Miami-Dade and Sweetwater police departments joined FIU police and Miami-Dade Fire Rescue in helping evacuate the building for a shooter search.

No gunman or victim was found.

Broward College

As the FIU faculty, staff and students read the “all clear” alerts on their phones, over a dozen Fort Lauderdale police cars zoomed across that city to 111 E. Las Olas Blvd., the location of Broward College’s Downtown Campus. At 11:40 a.m., police announced on Twitter there was no evidence anyone had been shot.

City College

Fort Lauderdale police had begun their investigation around 10:35 a.m. when Hollywood police began checking out a call about an active shooter at City College, 6565 Taft St. By 10:51 a.m., they knew nothing was happening.

“This was a swatting call at City College as well. No threat found,” Hollywood police spokesperson Deanna Bettineschi said in an email.

Hollywood’s City College was one of the schools hit by a ‘swatting’ incident Tuesday, May 2.
Hollywood’s City College was one of the schools hit by a ‘swatting’ incident Tuesday, May 2.

Palm Beach Atlantic

West Palm Beach police, the FBI and the Palm Beach Atlantic’s Department of Safety spent Thursday morning checking out an alert at Palm Beach Atlantic University. The school tweeted around 11:15 a.m. that the calls were false.