Trigger warning: This story describes events from the night of OU's swatting scare on April 7 and sounds of gun shots can be heard.
Calls made to Norman 911 in connection to the April swatting case at OU were released Friday, revealing the incident started with four calls in 15 minutes, setting in motion a night that brought more than 100 officers to campus and froze the broader community for hours. In total, authorities released 23 calls made in nearly an hour and a half.
Here's a timeline from the first four calls:
9:14 p.m.
In the first call, the caller says they found a note from their son that read: “I love you, but I have to go to the university and shoot everybody.” They also say all of the guns in their house are missing. The caller failed to give the dispatcher the address to the house where the guns were stolen, but said it was in Norman. They also mistook OU for the "University of Oakland."
The OU Daily is sharing these calls with the community for transparency and clarity on what occurred April 7 in Norman.
9:21 p.m.
The second was from a caller identifying themselves as Emily. They described an around 6-foot-tall white man carrying an AR-15 while walking down the South Oval toward the Bizzell Memorial Library. Shots can be heard in this call, with the dispatcher screaming “shots fired,” immediately afterward.
9:24 p.m.
In the third call, an unspecified caller said the shooter was walking through the library and told the dispatcher their friend had been shot in the stomach and leg. As gunshots were heard in the background of this call, the dispatcher told the caller to stay down and remain quiet. The caller seemed to be crying and told the dispatcher their phone was going to die. The call ends after that.
OU sent its first alert to students and faculty at 9:25 p.m. The message read: "There is an active shooter at the Van Vleet Oval. Take immediate action now. Run. Hide. Fight!"
OU-Norman Emergency: There is an active shooter at the Van Vleet Oval. Take immediate action now. Run. Hide. Fight!
— Univ. of Oklahoma (@UofOklahoma) April 8, 2023
9:29 p.m.
The fourth call was made from a person who called themselves Gavin. They said they heard shots at “Ravenson Hall” at OU, a location that doesn't exist. The caller told the dispatcher a shooter was walking toward their location. Shots are also heard in this recording.
The OU Daily is not publishing the audio from the 19 calls from the community at large to avoid retraumatization.
At 10:53 p.m., almost an hour and a half after the initial alert, OUPD issued an all-clear after law enforcement found no threat to campus.
OU-NORMAN Critical 10:53pm: OUPD has issued an ALL CLEAR. After a thorough search, no threat was found. There is no threat to campus. Alert has been canceled.
— Univ. of Oklahoma (@UofOklahoma) April 8, 2023
Two days after the incident on April 9, the university and FBI confirmed OU had been the target of an international swatting. Swatting refers to false calls being made to law enforcement in order to cause a large response.
Other insitutions have been the target of swatting in 2023, including schools in Pennsylvania and Utah. According to reporting from the Boston Globe, nearly 30 schools in Massachusetts were targets of swatting on March 28.
According to Sarah Schettler, NPD’s public information officer, the investigation into the swatting is being handled by the FBI.
The fifth call came at 9:32 p.m. and is the start of community members reporting to 911. The first came from a parent concerned about his daughter's safety on campus.
Of the 23 videos released, here are seven showing pivotal moments of officers arriving at the scene:
