More than 20 officers from Francis Marion University Campus Police, the Florence County Sheriff’s Office and the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division shut down the campus Sunday night while investigating a 911 call reporting a potential on-campus threat according to residential assistants and a media report. The call was later to be revealed as a hoax according to an official FMU update.
“The university received a threatening hoax call tonight over a campus administrative line. We have verified through our campus police and the State Law Enforcement Division that the hoax call presents no danger to students, faculty, or personnel on campus,” said a post from FMU’s official Facebook page.
Students were instructed by residential assistants in GroupMe—a group-messaging app commonly used by universities and colleges—to stay in place while police conducted their investigation. Most of the police activity focused on the ABC dorms, commonly referred to as the “Tri.” Many students said they learned about the situation through social media apps such as Yik Yak, where misinformation spread quickly.
WPDE reporter Tonya Brown reported that officers searched the campus and the surrounding community before determining that the call was the result of a false call or “swatting incident.” She added that investigators are working to identify the caller, who could face charges to the full extent of the law according to law enforcement.
The incident has raised concerns about campus safety, with many questioning why FMU did not issue a SwampFox Alert, the university’s emergency notification system used to warn the community about urgent threats or closures.
“Why was there no alert? I had to search social media to find information to relay to my daughter,” said a concerned parent on Facebook.
More information on the ongoing investigation is available in Brown’s report on WPDE’s website here. If you have any information on the false call, viewers are urged to call the Florence County Sheriff’s Office at 843-665-2121.