Technical problems caused the Auburn University alert system to send out false alarms about shooters, weather and other dangers Thursday, none of which were real.
“Earlier today, a technical error caused multiple AU Alerts to be sent through the emergency notification system. Please be assured that there was no threat to campus or the community,” the Alabama school said on social media.
“The alerts were triggered unintentionally, and we are actively working to resolve the issue to prevent future occurrences. We understand the alerts may have caused concern or alarm, and we sincerely apologize for any confusion,” the school said.
The Auburn Public Safety account also told people that there were no active threats and to “disregard any AU alerts issued in error.”
For example, just before noon an alert went out about a tornado warning, followed by a hazardous materials alert at 12:05 p.m., an all-clear message at 12:18 p.m. and then an active shooter warning at 12:22 p.m., according to the Auburn Plainsman student newspaper.
Some students reported getting the alerts at different times, or in a different order, according to the Auburn Plainsman.
In a subsequent social media post, Auburn University warned that members of the school community could continue to receive the false alarm alerts as the school worked with the company that provides its alerts service to fix the issue.
Auburn officials did not specify the nature of the technical issues.
