Panic and anger erupted across campus Tuesday morning after Michigan State University erroneously sent out a "drill" emergency notification to students, faculty, staff and parents, alerting recipients to an "active violence incident."

The notification was sent out to the entire campus and parents from the university's Department of Police and Public Safety. In the alert, it said to “run/avoid, hide/barricade or fight/confront” if in the presence of danger. 

The first text message was delivered at 10:52 a.m., followed by a series of phone calls and emails. 

Roughly one minute after the initial notification, a second message was sent, saying the emergency notification was delivered in “error” and to “please disregard” it. The second message was posted to the police department's social media pages.

Both MSU and MSU Police and Public Safety were not immediately available for comment.

For some students and parents who got the first notification, the word “drill” was omitted from the alert. The notification plainly read, “Emergency! Active violence incident at the MSU East Lansing Campus. Avoid the area.”

It does not appear as if the drill was previously scheduled. MSU tests its campus-wide alert system once a semester, with the most recent test occurring on Jan. 21.

“We regret any undue stress caused and steps are being taken to prevent such errors from occurring in the future,” MSU Police wrote in the social media statement.

Reyna Atkinson, an intercultural aid for MSU who was in her dorm at Rather Hall, said that one of the initial notifications did not make it clear that the emergency alert was a drill.