False Active Shooter Call at FIU Leads to Evacuations, Massive Police Response

A false active shooter call led to a massive police response and several buildings on the main campus of Florida International University in Miami-Dade being evacuated Tuesday morning.

FIU officials said they received reports of an active shooter at the Academic Health Center 3 building at the College of Nursing & Health Sciences.

The college sent a campus-wide alert advising people to evacuate.

"FIU ALERT! MMC Campus: A dangerous situation is occurring on or near campus! Evacuate the area NOW," the alert read. "We received notifications of possible shots fired at the College of Nursing via the Miami Dade County."

F I U ALERT! MMC Campus: A dangerous situation is occurring on or near campus! Evacuate the area NOW.
The activities on the east side of campus are isolated at this time. The west side of campus continues as normal.

— FIU (@FIU) May 2, 2023

Officers swarmed the campus off Southwest 8th Street as several buildings nearby were evacuated. Footage showed dozens of police along with several fire rescue trucks and ambulances at the campus.

After a massive search of the campus, officials said the call was unfounded and "not credible."

FIU Alert Update: This morning @FIUPOLICE received reports of an active shooter in AHC 3. Officers have cleared the building and are now conducting a methodical search.
There is no danger to anyone on campus.
The call appears to be false.

— FIU (@FIU) May 2, 2023

FIU Police later gave the all-clear, and normal campus activities were allowed to resume. Additional details have not been released.

FIU Alert: F I U ALERT! MMC Campus: All Clear. All Clear. Resume normal activities. https://t.co/7iEKVC3uBj

— FIUPolice (@FIUPOLICE) May 2, 2023

"It is a hoax call and while some may think it's funny, it is not funny at all, it's an incredible drain on resources, first responders are somewhere they don't need to be where they could be doing other things that we should actually be doing," FIU Police Chief Alexander Casas said. It's a tremendous disturbance to the day-to-day operations of the university campus and I don't think there's anything funny about it."

Similar incidents were reported at other colleges and universities in South Florida and throughout the state Tuesday morning.

At City College Hollywood, police responded to what they called a swatting call. No injuries were found to students or staff, Hollywood Police officials said.

NBC 6

Fort Lauderdale Police also responded to a "suspicious call" at a building on Las Olas Boulevard that houses Florida Atlantic University and Broward College.

#FLPD officers are responding to 111 East Las Olas Boulevard after receiving a suspicious call. We are working to confirm the validity of the call as well as the ensuring the safety of everyone in the area. We will update as soon as we have more information. pic.twitter.com/GEsAsD4S8j

— Fort Lauderdale Police (@ftlauderdalepd) May 2, 2023

Check back with NBC 6 for updates.