BGSU swatting call: What went wrong?

BOWLING GREEN — Many Bowling Green State University students and families feel like they did not receive enough information on Nov. 10 when BGSU was the victim of its first swatting call, claiming there was an active shooter at the Jerome Library on campus.BGSU did not send out an emergency alert until after the all-clear was given by the BGSU Police Department, an issue seen at other universities, which could see a change due to theJeanne Clery Act.The call came in to the Bowling Green Police Department's non-emergency line at 9:53 a.m. on Nov. 10. The first alert was sent to BGSU students at 11:14 a.m., an email was sent at 11:28 a.m. and a final email was sent at 4:46 p.m. That was 81 minutes between the call to the first alert, which was an all-clear alert sent out to those signed up for emergency alerts.The alert read, "All clear: BGSUPD responded to an anonymous call of threat at the library, received by [the] City of Bowling Green. BGSUPD has determined no immediate threat. [M]ore information to be shared in email."One BGSU student, Natalie Holsky, a sophomore majoring in communication sciences and disorders, works with Information Technology Services in the library. Holsky was working at the time of the call.When told to evacuate, the only information Holsky was told was "just to get out as quickly as possible," Holsky said.Even once Holsky and other staff members and students were allowed back in the library, she still had no idea what had occurred."I was quite frustrated because I was sitting back in my office, shaking, waiting to hear from [AlertBG], but nothing was said for a long time. I was frustrated because what if it wasn't a swatting," Holsky said. "The students of BGSU were left in the dark for way too long about what was happening."Holsky believes BGSU should have been "more transparent" with the entire threat."I felt super left in the dark about the whole thing, even though I was there," Holsky said.At the University of Pittsburgh, a swatting call on Aug. 28 claimed an armed individual was on campus, according to a Pitt University Times article.During this incident, Pitt Public Safety sent out an emergency alert to students and families at 12:28 p.m., eight minutes after the phone call came in. An update was sent out at 12:34 p.m. that police were continuing to search the area. At 12:49 p.m., a final alert was sent out saying that there was no threat.But before this incident, another swatting call, like this one, was made to Pitt on April 10, 2023, at 11:10 p.m. The first emergency notification did not go out until 82 minutes after the call was made.The Jeanne Clery Act, enacted in 1990, "requires colleges and universities to report campus crime data, support victims of violence and publicly outline the policies and procedures they have put into place to improve campus safety," according to the Clery Center.A section of the act focuses on "timely warnings and emergency notifications." In the act, they are defined as two separate alerting systems — one is a warning of a possible threat, and the other is a notification about a confirmed or ongoing threat. Neither of these were sent out until after BGSUPD determined an all-clear.A timely warning should be sent out when "crimes reported to a campus security authority or local law enforcement pose a serious or ongoing threat to the campus community."The BGSU Emergency Management Plan does not outline its procedures for timely warnings, but it does discuss emergency notifications.Emergency notifications are part of the "response" phase."Response activities are immediate tasks, programs, and systems to manage the effects of an emergency or disaster. Response activities include the evaluation and summary of the emergency … along with public communication, emergency notifications and the implementation of the functional annexes," according to BGSU's website.The plan also does not outline specific procedures for swatting calls. Colleen Rerucha, a university spokesperson, said, "We continuously examine our processes in all safety-related incidents."Swatting incidents have become a frequent occurrence across the nation, which has led to additional training for law enforcement in how to recognize a swatting call. In the incident earlier this month, staff were able to recognize key indicators of swatting," Rerucha added.According to the plan, "The Board of Trustees and the President of the University are ultimately responsible for the management of the University during an emergency or disaster occurring on University-owned or controlled property."On Nov. 10, BGSU President Rodney Rogers was away at the Association of Public and Land Grant Universities meeting in Philadelphia."President Rogers was at the APLU annual meeting for university presidents in Philadelphia, and was made aware of the incident immediately by the administrator-in-charge," Rerucha said.Casey Wyman, the vice president for finance and administration and chief financial officer, was the administrator-in-charge during this incident. He was hired in June 2025.One BGSU student, Addilynn Wilson, a sophomore CDIS major, believes that the same thing would have happened, even if Rogers was in Bowling Green."He seems more a figurehead than anything; a very personable figurehead. But, I doubt his presence would have any bearing on the response," Wilson said.Due to the fact that many students feel upset about the lack of information, Wilson believes this could lead to a change in the procedures BGSU has in place. "I feel it can put into question how effective our systems are," Wilson said. "I know some friends who had to be told [by] word-of-mouth as they were walking to the library not to go." In the Findlay area, both Findlay High School and Liberty-Benton Schools have received swatting calls in recent years that led to school-wide shutdowns. In none of these instances did Findlay police find evidence of a credible threat. They said at the time they learned the swatting incidents took place on the same day dozens of other high schools across the state and country experienced them. BGSUPD is asking those with any information to contact them."BGSUPD is working collaboratively with local, state and federal authorities, with the investigation ongoing. If anyone has information, please contact BGSUPD," Rerucha said.BGSUPD can be called at 419-372-2346.