> At a Glance
> – Brown University students relied on anonymous app Sidechat for real-time updates during a Dec. 13 shooting
> – 15 minutes passed between student posts and the university’s first alert
> – Nearly 8,000 posts were analyzed from the 36-hour crisis window
> – Why it matters: The episode shows how campuses exchange safety information when official channels lag
Brown University’s Dec. 13 shooting unfolded during finals week, yet the first warnings didn’t come from the school. Instead, students swapped frantic messages on Sidechat, an anonymous campus board, revealing the attack in real time.
Digital Panic Unfolds
The feed pivoted from jokes about Minecraft to urgent pleas in seconds. At 4:06 p.m., a student asked why crowds were fleeing the Barus and Holley building; by 4:10 p.m., posts screamed about two people shot near Thayer Street. University alerts finally arrived at 4:21 p.m., but the shooter had already left campus.
- “EVERYONE TAKE COVER“
- “STAY AWAY FROM THAYER STREET NEAR MACMILLAN 2 PEOPLE JUST GOT SHOT“
- “so r we on lockdown or what“
Night of Lockdown
Students barricaded doors with mini fridges, urinated in laundry jugs, and traded rumors for hours. Some posted from hospital beds, others begged for food after 10-plus hours inside. A single classmate roamed a dark dorm handing out mac-and-cheese cups.
> “Door is locked windows are locked I’ve balanced a metal pipe thing on the handle so if anyone even tries the handle from the outside it’ll make a loud noise.”
> – Anonymous student post
Information Chaos
Misinformation ran rampant-claims of a captured shooter surfaced within 30 minutes, false reports of fresh gunfire echoed overnight, and students argued over whether AI summaries of scanners could be trusted. A volunteer Google Doc ballooned to 28 pages as classmates demanded verified updates.
| Time After First Shot | Event |
|---|---|
| 0 min | Students evacuate Barus and Holley; Sidechat lights up |
| 15 min | University alert finally issued |
| 30 min | False “shooter caught” posts spread |
| 10 hrs+ | Students still locked inside, unable to sleep |
Campus Changed Forever
Snow fell the next morning-Brown’s first of the year-but what was once festive felt ominous. Flowers piled up outside the gated entrance and the Barus and Holley building as students donated blood and asked, “What do I do rn?“
> “Snow will always be bloody for me.”
> – Anonymous student post
Key Takeaways
- Students filled a critical 15-minute information gap themselves
- 8,000 posts captured raw fear, kindness, and confusion in real time
- The incident underscores the need for faster, clearer campus emergency comms
Sidechat’s real-time scroll became both lifeline and time capsule, proving that when seconds matter, students won’t wait for official word.
