Classes canceled on Sarasota-Manatee campus following active shooter false alarm
All classes and activities were canceled on Sarasota-Manatee campus on Tuesday after USF deployed its emergency response system following a false report of shots fired on campus, according to an email sent to students from President Rhea Law.
The emergency response was triggered by a false alarm as part of a state-wide college campus shooting hoax, according to a tweet by Manatee Sheriff Charles Wells.
After working with @CampusPoliceSRQ to investigate reports of a shooting at @USFSM today, deputies have cleared campus and determined no shooting took place and no one was injured. This appears to be part of a state-wide swatting hoax at Florida colleges.
— Manatee Sheriff (@ManateeSheriff) May 2, 2023
Several colleges were affected by the hoax, including South Florida State College’s Highlands County campus, FIU, Indian River State College, Palm Beach Atlantic University and FAU, according to a Tampa Bay 10 report.
The Manatee county sheriff’s office held a news conference with USFSM campus police on Tuesday afternoon where he said that $100,000 of resources had been used by the false alarm, and they were still looking for the perpetrator.
This is a developing story. Stay with The Oracle for updates.
More Stories
Bomb threat at USF Cooper hall wasn’t legitimate, police say
University Police (UP) determined a reported bomb threat at Cooper Hall on Tuesday night wasn’t legitimate. After sweeping Cooper Hall, UP found “nothing of concern,” according to a universitywide email sent out at 12:39 a.m on Wednesday. The investigation is still ongoing, according to police. The USF community was first alerted to the bomb threat […]
Pro-Palestine encampment protest at USF broken up by tear gas
Law enforcement broke up a pro-Palestine encampment of around 100 protesters at the USF Tampa campus Tuesday evening using tear gas. The demonstration was the second in two days at USF where students, employees and community members urged the university to divest from companies with financial ties to Israel. Related: Several protesters at USF arrested […]
Several protestors at USF arrested during pro-Palestine encampment protest
Three protestors were arrested by University Police (UP) Monday afternoon during a pro-Palestine demonstration outside the Marshall Student Center (MSC), according to USF spokesperson Althea Johnson. Johnson said the three arrests included a student, an employee and an individual who is not associated with the university. Related: USF pro-Palestine hunger strikers removed from BOT meeting […]
The Oracle needs your help
Dear reader: Reporters for USF’s award-winning student newspaper, The Oracle, have recently navigated through a pandemic, a rapidly evolving political climate and a change in university president – all with the goal of sharing important news and stories. Though The Oracle has been an integral part in keeping the USF community informed since 1966, we […]
USF won’t install more physical protections following recent on-campus suicide
USF will not be implementing additional physical safety measures over a month after a student leapt from an upper floor inside the Interdisciplinary Sciences building, USF spokeswoman Althea Johnson said. The incident marked the third on-campus suicide since fall 2022. A week after a student fell from an upper floor of Beard Garage in 2022, […]
Meet USF’s new student body president and vice president
A new era of Student Government (SG) just arrived. In a quick five-minute ceremony, student body president-elect Suryakanth Prasad Gottipati and vice president-elect Sumit Subhash Jadhav were sworn in on Wednesday afternoon. Their term will start on May 6 and last for one year. Related: Take a look at USF’s student leaders’ swearing in ceremony […]