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Late Friday night on April 7, the University of Oklahoma went under lockdown after authorities were alerted that there was an active shooter on campus.
Immediately after receiving active shooter reports, the university, in a tweet, warned the students to take shelter, as armed police descended into the campus, expecting an active threat.
However, shortly after, the university declared that the campus was safe and indicated that the incident could be a swatting call. Reports of a potential swatting incident have sparked outrage as real threats stemming from endemic school shootings continue to plague the country.
Swatting is an illegal activity where an individual makes hoax calls and falsely reports threats of bombs or shootings, prompting officials to send Swat teams to the scene.
It is deemed an extremely dangerous act where armed police officers expecting to confront threatening situations barge into the scene prepared to shoot anyone they think is dangerous, sometimes resulting in the deaths of innocent victims.
Twitter erupts after Oklahoma University shooting reports are deemed a potential swatting incident
Shortly after the university declared that the campus was safe, noting that they were possibly victims of swatting, several people on social media condemned the incident, demanding the arrest of the person responsible for the suspected hoax call.
Several people pointed out the anxiety and fear caused by fake shooting reports in the wake of the recent Nashville shooting incident that killed six people, including three young students.
While Oklahoma University has yet to confirm the swatting situation, the sports director at KTUL News, TJ Eckert, said that if the reports are true, the person responsible should be punished.
“A swatting call hasn’t been confirmed at the University of Oklahoma, but seeing multiple people throw that out there. With a dad in the Tulsa Police Department, I can tell you that swatting is absolutely terrible. And should NEVER be used as a prank. I mean. Just brutal.”
He added:
“Thankful that OU is all clear, and that the threat is over. And most importantly, no victims. But if it comes out that this truly was a swatting (again, that hasn’t been confirmed,) someone needs to be punished. It’s ridiculous.”
Others echoed similar statements and Tweeted:
Details of the Oklahoma University shooting reports explored
As per multiple reports, the University of Oklahoma was under high alert Friday night after authorities suspected that there was an active shooter on the premises. Immediately after, The Norman, Oklahoma, campus, at about 9:25 p.m., alerted the students on the university's Twitter account about the potential threat at the Van Vleet Oval, a garden space for outdoor activity.
15 minutes later, in a tweet, the university said that police were investigating the reports on campus and asked people to avoid the South Oval area.
Shortly before 11 p.m., the school tweeted that campus police had determined that there was no active threat, noting that it was a potential swatting incident and added that authorities are investigating the case.
The incident comes in the wake of authorities arresting a Washington state man, Ashton Connor Garcia, after being indicted on swatting charges for threatening the lives of victims across the country.
