At 8:42 p.m., an updated alert said that an explosion at a substation was the cause of the power outages; however, at 9:42 p.m., another alert from the Texas Tech Police Department said that an explosion at a manhole was affecting multiple locations on campus and causing widespread power outages.

Caitlynn Jeffries, a public information officer, for the Texas Tech Police Department, said the incident began around 7 p.m. with an explosion in a manhole near the engineering key in the central part of campus.