On Sunday evening around 7 p.m., a post was made to the CSUN channel on the anonymous social media platform YikYak of an assault rifle, handgun, multiple magazines per gun and numerous boxes of ammunition. The caption of the post was a smiley face emoji.
Per YikYak FAQ, posts are automatically deleted when they receive 5 downvotes. The original post was removed and reposted before being removed a second time, according to a Reddit post.
YikYak claims to be entirely anonymous, though access to college channels require a verified school email. Signing up also requires a phone number and verification. According to YikYak, government agencies may request information with legal cause.
Student reactions across social media vary, though many are concerned about attending campus on Monday. One student posted on Reddit that they are “very worried and considering not showing up to campus tomorrow due to fear.”
Around 9:50 p.m., a Reddit user alleged that the photo belongs to them, but was screenshotted from their Instagram account and posted to YikYak by someone else.
“Guys this is a picture I took of my brothers guns a whole year ago and someone screenshotted it off my story and posted it. There is no threat,” they said. “Please I’m stressed out now, these guns are in Arizona not anywhere near Csun.”
CSUN DPS released a statement to students via email at 10:35 p.m. on Sunday night. The statement said that DPS is aware of the photograph and investigating the post.
“At this time campus remains open as there is no credible threat and DPS will continue to actively investigate,” CSUN DPS stated.
The statement urged students to reach out directly to professors with any concerns about attending classes on Monday and to contact University Counseling Services for additional support.
At 11:32 a.m. Monday morning, DPS sent out a followup message corroborating the claims of the student who took responsibility for the photographs and their origination.
The statement claimed that the investigation of the post is ongoing, though they do not deem any credible threat to campus. DPS increased patrol on campus on Monday in response to student safety concerns.
Around 6:25 p.m. on Monday evening, DPS released a third statement on the matter about what they deemed to be a copycat post screenshotted from a YouTube video posted over one year ago. The statement reiterated that there is no credible threat from either postings and campus is to remain open.
Editor’s note: This article was last updated at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 24, 2025.
