A WarnMe alert was sent out on August 21 by UC Davis as part of an active shooter training exercise, but some recipients received the message without a clear indication that it was a drill. The university issued a correction through an Aggie Alert to all students and employees after discovering the mistake.
“We apologize for any distress caused and we are reviewing how this came about,” UC Davis stated in its follow-up communication.
The initial alert was sent at 9:02 A.M. and was meant only for certain emergency services staff. However, due to an error with the Nixle alerting service, more people received the SMS text message, which did not include the word ‘drill’. The linked message clarified that it was a drill.
This incident occurred during ongoing mass casualty incident training exercises conducted by UC Davis police and fire departments at the Activities and Recreation Center. The final day of these exercises is scheduled for Friday, August 22, from 7 A.M. to 1 P.M.
