On Feb. 17 and 18, 2026, the Daytona Beach campus of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) was reportedly threatened by an external source. The lockdown and threat stemmed from a phone call received at 8:40 p.m., in which the caller stated they were “five minutes away, and I’m going to start shooting up the campus.”
Campus Safety and local law enforcement responded immediately on Feb. 17. At 9:49 p.m., the university announced that all students, faculty, and staff were safe, but students were advised to shelter in place, avoid the area, or return to their dorms until further notice. Law enforcement conducted a building-by-building investigation, beginning with the Mori Hosseini Student Union. WESH-2 reported that ERAU issued a campus-wide shelter-in-place alert, instructing, “No matter where you are on campus, you shelter in place.”
“The threat was honestly terrifying. At the time, the notification made it seem like there was an active shooter on campus,” an anonymous Embry-Riddle student said. “Seven of us were together sitting on the floor of a storage closet for about two and a half hours. We were completely silent for the first while in case there was a shooter, but eventually we got a notification that the threat was likely contained to the parking garage.”
Ultimately, the campus was cleared, and no credible threat was found. An Embry-Riddle spokesperson said, “Campus operations have resumed, and all students and employees are safe.” The Daytona Beach police added, “For the days following the event, law enforcement personnel will remain on campus as a precaution.”
Around 3:30 p.m. on Feb. 18, students were evacuated after another false threat was made to the university. Embry-Riddle senior Aryela Luera was on campus when the second threat came up.
“I was in the Student Leadership Suite in the Student Union when we all got told that we needed to evacuate due to another threat. After about thirty minutes, everyone got a notification from campus safety determining that the threat was invalid,” Luera said.
Following the false threats, students launched an iPetition on Feb. 19. By 1:34 p.m. that same day, the petition had already received 473 signatures—almost 50% of its goal—urging the university to improve transparency between Campus Safety and students.
“We deserve to feel safe on campus. We deserve an administration that affirms its priority for our health and safety, mental and physical. Students across campus feel disappointed by the response from the university following the threat of violence and campus lockdown the night of Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026,” the description of the petition read. “The lack of a proper statement addressing our growing concerns left tensions high the following day, causing undue stress and worry, which likely contributed to the chaos and false alarm later in the evening on Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026.”
Many petition signers also left comments, most of them anonymous. Some shared personal experiences related to the threats. One anonymous student wrote, “The first time I heard about something happening was 8:54 p.m. on 2/17. The first email/notification I received from campus was at 10:00 p.m.”
Embry-Riddle has remained largely silent on social media regarding the incidents, aside from one story post the night of the first threat. According to The Daytona Beach News-Journal, the university’s statement read: “We offer our sincere thanks to all emergency responders and the Daytona Beach Police Department for their immediate action and support.”