Just in case anyone hasn’t heard here has been a series of hoax threats to campus buildings. Usuallly late at night which I’m sure isn’t going to help during exams right now. Since I’m an online student I get the notifications by voicemail and text and I’m sure that is keeping students up even if they aren’t in a building that is affected.

I’ll put the email in the next post.

From App St Police email.


Dear Members of the App State Community,

In recent days, Appalachian State University has experienced four hoax events threatening the life safety of our campus community. While police investigations are still underway, we do not believe these hoax reports are coming from the local area.

Calls of this nature, often referred to as “swatting,” have unfortunately been on the rise on college campuses in recent months. You can learn more about these kinds of threats here. Like many law enforcement agencies across the nation, App State Police have received training from the FBI about characteristics and nationwide trends regarding hoax threats.

Out of an abundance of caution, increased police patrols are ongoing and will continue. We continue to request that members of the campus community report any suspicious activity or safety concerns to App State Police. In case of an emergency, call 911.

App State Police have engaged the FBI in investigations of all incidents, which are ongoing. App State's Information Security team is also assisting in the investigations.

App State Police are specifically trained to rapidly respond to serious threats against personal and community safety. App State Police immediately respond to all threats regarding life safety and engage additional support from regional, state and federal law enforcement agencies as needed.

As a reminder, we encourage all members of the university community to sign up for App State Alerts, Appalachian State University’s 24/7 emergency messaging system.

Thank you.

Johnny Brown
Director of Public Safety and Chief of Police
828-262-6436

police.appstate.edu

I have my thoughts on punishment if the moron is caught.

My coworker told me about this as his son is a Freshman. Some idiot is gonna be in a lot of trouble.

What is wrong with people?

Sadly this has become a national issue. Used to aggravate people and at times for political purposes. Think the punishment for it is not a deterrent. Need bigger fines and active jail time. Only way to stop it.

Punishment is never a deterrent to a criminal. Sure, it deters law bidding citizens but those aren't the ones society should worry about. Most criminals NEVER think about the consequences, they just do what they want to do with no regard.

Not sure what exactly they hope to accomplish but this trend was for high schools last year as well. I know my kids HS had it a couple times last school year.