Dear UT Health San Antonio faculty and staff:
Covered in many media outlets on Thursday, April 13, 2023, several Texas cities responded to a rash of hoax calls, called swatting, reporting bogus active shooters at area colleges and universities including San Antonio’s Galen College of Nursing located in the One Technology Building at 7411 John Smith Drive.
UT Health San Antonio leases office space in the One Technology Building and many of our employees working in that building were impacted by the events related to the perceived threat. Officers and trained response teams were on site within minutes. Once police thoroughly searched the entire campus, and determined there was no active threat, the campus was cleared.
We understand and empathize with our employees who may experience a variety of emotions following this event. While we are incredibly grateful that the threat was not substantiated, we fully appreciate that this experience is just as traumatic to those affected.
Safety is our No. 1 priority, and we take this situation very seriously. We are grateful for the response of law enforcement and will take this opportunity to continuously improve our crisis management protocols, emergency responses and communication processes.
Please know that our university has resources available to support any student, staff or faculty member who needs help processing this event. Please find a list below of some of the resources available:
- UT Employee Assistance Program (UTEAP). Call (800) 346-3549.
- Here are links to additional resources on the EAP site to refer to as needed:
- UT Health San Antonio’s Mental Health and Well-being website.
- UT Police website that offers many safety training opportunities.
- UT Health SAfe, a mobile safety app available through Google Play or Apple App Store that allows you to chat real time with UT Police dispatch and receive important information like emergency notifications and other alerts.
- Sign up for HSC Alerts to stay informed about security and emergency issues on campus. Alerts are automatically sent to all uthscsa.edu emails. To receive emergency alerts as text messages on your mobile phone or to your personal email address, register by logging in to https://uthscsa.edu/hscalert using your university username and password. Please be sure that your mobile carrier listed is up to date. Please note, we are working to ensure the HSC Alert protocols are effective based on information gleaned from Thursday’s event.
- If you would like to share your insights or feedback about your experience on Thursday or offer additional considerations for how we can continuously improve the culture of safety at UT Health San Antonio, please connect with UTPD Chief Michael Parks via utpolice@uthscsa.edu, or contact Communications@uthscsa.edu.
Sincerely,
Andrea Marks
Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer