Villanova campus shaken by back-to-back false reports of active shooter
A report of an active shooter at Villanova University was quickly determined to be false by officers who cleared the scene.
The hoax follows a similar incident earlier in the week, which saw police in tactical gear clearing a campus building.
Villanova University students have endured two false active shooter scares in less than a week, leaving the campus community on edge as police investigate a series of dangerous “swatting” incidents.
On Sunday morning, students were told to shelter in place after police received a report of a gunman in Austin Hall, a campus residence. Radnor Township Police quickly determined the call to be false and cleared the scene by late morning.
“Law enforcement has confirmed the call to be false. Officers are working to clear the campus and restore normal operations,” the department said in a statement.
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Just days earlier, on Thursday afternoon, Villanova’s law school was locked down after another false report of a gunman. The incident coincided with the school’s orientation mass, causing alarm as tactical teams cleared Scarpa Hall.
Following the first false report, Radnor Police Chief Christopher Flanagan told WPVI-TV that people must understand the calls are “not a joke” for law enforcement.
Villanova University President Peter M. Donohue acknowledged the chaos in a message after the false reports of active shooters, and stated that a planned community mass would proceed be on schedule despite the frightening incidents.
”I know it may not seem like it after the past couple of days, but I assure you that campus is safe, and there is no evidence of a legitimate threat to our community,” Donohue’s Sunday message states.
Local authorities are working with the Federal Bureau of Investigation to discover the identity of the callers behind the hoaxes.
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro directed the state police to “use every tool at our disposal” to find those responsible for the false alarms.
While the commonwealth’s law does not specifically address swatting, making false reports to law enforcement is classified as a misdemeanor of the second degree. Under the statute, offenses can be graded even higher depending on the circumstances.
