Reports of an armed shooter at the University of Georgia, Clark Atlanta University and the University of West Georgia seem to point toward a hoax, officials said Friday.
A UGA alert, which was sent via text and posted on X around 8:50 p.m. Friday, informed students and staff about an “armed shooter in the area of Main Library.” The main library is located along South Jackson Street.
About 40 minutes later, school officials provided some relief: “Police are on scene at Library, evidence suggests a hoax.”
University spokesperson Rod Guajardo told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that UGA police received a call about a shooter in the area and quickly responded. UGA sent out an all-clear alert at about 10:40 p.m. after checking campus security cameras and collecting evidence. Athens-Clarke County police said they were assisting with the investigation.
“We strongly condemn hoax reports and swatting attempts,” the university said in a statement. “These false reports cause unnecessary fear and divert critical emergency resources. Making such a false report is not a harmless prank—it is a dangerous and unlawful act."
At Clark Atlanta University, school officials said reports of an active shooter appeared to be inaccurate, but a shelter-in-place order was in effect out of caution, according to media reports.
Shortly before 10 p.m., the University of West Georgia sent out emails about “a report of a male with a gun in the area of the Ingram Library.” The library is near The Quad and the Campus Center.
About 30 minutes later, another alert clarified that “No evidence of any threat was found.” Emergency personnel gave the all-clear.
The GBI and FBI Atlanta are looking into a recent rise of unfounded threats that have targeted various sites, often educational institutions.
“The GBI is aware of these incidents and the nationwide trend by online threat actors to disrupt schools with these swatting incidents,” agency spokesperson Lydia Bullard told the AJC earlier this week.
Students at High Point Elementary School in Fulton County had to be relocated to Ridgeview Middle School on Thursday after an emailed bomb threat, district officials said. Nothing was located at the school.
On Wednesday, around 11:30 a.m., a spokesperson with Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta said their Hughes Spalding hospital in downtown Atlanta received a bomb threat. The situation led to Georgia State University staff and students receiving a notification, but a school official confirmed there was no threat to campus.
Around the same time, students at Mercer University in Macon were ordered to shelter in place after Bibb County’s 911 center received a threatening call. The nature of the threat was not divulged, but a school spokesperson said a threat was not found by law enforcement who swept the campus.
Also, Central Georgia Technical College in Macon went on lockdown Tuesday after a 911 call about an active shooter, authorities said.
Staff writer Alexis Stevens contributed to this report.
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