By Cole Bertelsen, The Mercury
K-State released an urgent alert at 4:30 p.m. Monday, stating a potential safety concern was reported on campus. It instructed students to “Please avoid the area of Hale Library.”
A second alert was sent eight minutes later giving an all-clear which read, “Hale Library and campus operations are normal.”
K-State director of news and communications services Michelle Geering released a statement from K-State which said the university “was a target of a swatting attack intended to be disruptive to our Manhattan campus.”
“Riley County Dispatch received a call on their administrative line of a message stating active violence at Hale Library,” the statement read. “Officers immediately responded and determined the call was a hoax and there was no threat or danger. The building is safe, and the Manhattan campus is under normal operations.”
The statement said this seems similar to other swatting occurrences reported at universities across the country.