U of C's emergency app under scrutiny after reports of 'stabbing' failed to alert all users

The University of Calgary's emergency alert system is under scrutiny after reports of a knife-wielding man on campus failed to reach everyone who had access to the app. 

Calgary police said they've found no victims, witnesses or an offender following multiple stabbing reports that had officers racing to the University of Calgary on Tuesday night.

Police said that shortly before 8:30 p.m., they were called to the U of C campus for multiple reports of an unknown man stabbing several people.

Upon arrival, they said officers canvassed the campus, and were unable to locate any victims or witnesses to corroborate the incident, nor any evidence that an offender was involved.

The reports, however, triggered a campus-wide emergency alert that didn't work as planned.

A student who said he was on campus at the time told CBC News that the university's alert system faltered when it failed to reach everyone who had access to the app.

The situation caused confusion, said Arhaam Mukati, who was studying at the Taylor Family Digital Library when things unfolded.

Some students were running to their dorms while others looked clueless. He said he was only made aware of the situation because he was at a desktop computer. 

The majority of people around him, Mukati said, pointed toward their screens, which had a message from the university's emergency alert system stating there was a person with a weapon on campus.

"Get out, hide, or fight. Follow police direction," read a part of the message. 

Mukati said other students who did not receive the notification on their phones seemed to have no idea what was going on. 

"At first, we were all looking around, thinking 'is this real' … some people were questioning if this was a prank," he said. 

"[The message] was only showing up on the computer screens, no one had got an email or anything."

He said there was no audible alert made over the library's announcement system.

In a statement sent to CBC News, the University of Calgary confirmed it had experienced technical issues with the mobile Alertus app. 

"The UCalgary Alertus Emergency system worked as intended on desktop computers, issuing a notice to computers advising of the situation," read the statement. 

"Our expectations for such systems are that they work every time, and we apologize to the campus community that they appear to have had challenges in this instance. 

"We are committed to ensuring a reliable and effective communication system is in place for the UCalgary community and are taking the necessary steps to address the current gaps."

In addition to the use of the Alertus notification system Tuesday, the university said it also provided further messaging to the campus community via building mass notification systems, social media, including Twitter, and a banner alert on the main UCalgary webpage.

The U of C said it tested the Alertus emergency app "with complete success" last week for both desktop and mobile devices. 

It said the emergency management team has a robust response plan in place, and following every incident, the team routinely reviews its response process and procedures and will make adjustments as needed. 

A similar situation occurred in 2019 when there were reports of a student with a gun on campus. The emergency alert system had failed to alert students at the time and triggered an investigation from the university.

Police said more information related to Tuesday night's situation became available later on and the District 3 general investigations unit is working with the University of Calgary.