Dear Students, Faculty and Staff:
Over the last 24 hours, our community has experienced two swatting incidents targeting Maxwell and Eggers Halls. Swatting is when an anonymous caller makes an intentionally false report of the presence of an active shooter to stoke fear among the targeted communities. They have increased in prevalence in recent years and often target schools, colleges and universities. I appreciate these calls can be traumatic for members of our community and can create fear and panic.
We take all these reports seriously and investigate fully. Despite both of these incidents being swatting calls, the Department of Public Safety (DPS) will maintain increased patrols at Maxwell and Eggers Halls. DPS is also in contact with the FBI and local law enforcement as the investigation into who made these calls continues.
Given these recent incidents, I wanted to write this afternoon to remind you about DPS protocols for responding to reported threats and how we communicate them to our community.
How we respond to reported threats
When we learn of claims of an active shooter situation that lack immediate credibility (no additional calls to 911, security footage showing no abnormal behavior, etc.) on campus, our DPS officers immediately respond to the report’s location where they work swiftly to confirm the veracity of the report. When responding to these reports, DPS officers will appear on the scene as they would in the event of a confirmed threat. For example, they will respond in significant numbers so you will likely observe multiple officers on foot and several patrol cars. The officers will respond, in many cases, with their weapons drawn as is standard law enforcement protocol. The officers will conduct a canvas of the scene and once the threat is discredited, it is then that DPS will communicate broadly with our campus community.
How we communicate about confirmed and discredited threats
In the event of a confirmed active shooter situation, you will receive immediate communications from DPS via the Orange Alert System. Orange Alert provides rapid notification and instructions to Syracuse University and SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry students, faculty and staff. Orange Alert will communicate what the threat is and what, if any, action community members should take to as a result. If you haven’t, I urge you to review our Run. Hide. Fight. video, which explains in detail how the University responds to active shooter threats. Review the video on the DPS website.
We reserve the use of this system for situations where there is an active or imminent threat of physical danger to our campus community. That is because when you receive an Orange Alert, we need you to know to take immediate action as directed. Orange Alert will leverage the following communications methods:
- email;
- text messaging;
- social media networks;
- cell/landline phone calls to send a brief notice about the incident and instructions about what actions to take; and
- sirens that sound on North Campus and South Campus.
After an Orange Alert message is broadcasted, more detailed follow-up information will be provided until it is determined the threat has been eliminated.
Please note: There is a scheduled test of the Orange Alert system on Tuesday, Feb. 13, at 1:55 p.m. More information regarding this test will be sent in an additional email.
Sign up for Orange Alerts in MySlice
To receive the emergency communications, all students, faculty and staff are strongly encouraged to log in to MySlice to ensure their contact information for Orange Alert is up to date. It is important to note that to receive text message notifications your cell phone number must be designated as a mobile device.
My colleagues and I are always available to discuss our processes, protocols and how we collaborate with local, state and federal law enforcement to keep our campus community safe. Finally, remember that the Department of Public Safety is here for you 24/7 by calling 315.443.2224 or by connecting on the Orange Safe app.
Sincerely,
Chief Craig A. Stone
Department of Public Safety
Student Experience Division