A report of an active shooter at Villanova University in Pennsylvania on Thursday turned out to be a “cruel hoax,” according to the school president and the Delaware County district attorney.
Villanova University sent out a report of an active shooter in the Charles Widger School of Law around 4:30 p.m., advising people to move to a secure location and to lock and barricade doors.
In a letter to the community, Villanova University President Rev. Peter Donohue said that there were reports of a possible shooter at the law school during the school’s orientation Mass in the middle of campus.
Police from across Delaware County, Pennsylvania State Police and federal law enforcement responded to a possible active shooter situation at the university.
At 5:47 p.m., Radnor police said there were no reported victims.
“There was a call that came in around 4:30 p.m. to law enforcement, a 911 center, saying there was an active shooter in the building, in the law school building, and that there was a victim, at least one victim who was wounded,” Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer said. “That has turned out not to be true. … There was never an active shooting on the campus.”
Stollsteimer said law enforcement remained on scene Thursday night investigating.
The shelter-in-place order on campus was lifted at 6:32 p.m., Delaware County officials said.
Gov. Josh Shapiro said in a post on X that he’s directed Pennsylvania State Police to “use every tool at our disposal to find the person or people who called in this fake threat and hold them accountable.”
“I know today was every parent’s nightmare, and every student’s biggest fear,” Shapiro wrote. “I’m profoundly grateful no one was hurt, and thankful to all members of law enforcement who ran towards reports of danger to keep Pennsylvanians safe.”
Thursday was “opening day” at Villanova, which included a family resource fair and info sessions, orientation, opening Mass and a family picnic, according to a schedule posted on the university’s website.
“Amid my thanks, I would like to apologize to our first-year students and their families,” Donohue said in the letter to the community. “This is not the introduction to Villanova that I had hoped for you. And while I cannot do anything to relieve the unrest that you are feeling right now, I can offer a prayer.”
Multiple 911 calls about shooter at Villanova University
In a statement, Delaware County communications director Michael Connolly described the first calls to 911: “Delaware County’s Department of Emergency Services received a call at 4:33 PM of shots fired from a man armed with an AR-15-style weapon on the campus of Villanova University, reports which later turned out to be erroneous. Multiple calls were received in which gunshot-like sounds were heard in the background, which are under investigation at this time.”
Law enforcement agencies were dispatched from “nearly every municipality in the region,” Connolly said, and 18 EMS units responded in case anyone was injured.
At 5:06 p.m., another call came in reporting a gunshot wound, and that was also unfounded, the statement says.
The investigation is ongoing into the incident, which Connolly said may be a “swatting” attempt. Swatting is a crime “with severe criminal consequences” under federal and state law, he said in the statement.
Connolly also praised first responders for their swift response to the calls.
“Shame on you”: Family at Villanova relieved that reported active shooter was a hoax
The Miller family was both frightened and relieved by the events that happened at Villanova University.
Allison Miller was on campus for her orientation day as an incoming freshman. The family was in Mass at the time.
“We were sitting at Mass, and I got a notification on my Apple Watch, and it said it was an active shooter alert,” said Allison Miller. “And then 15 seconds after that, everyone stood up, started rushing, absolute hysteria, which is understandable.”
Elizabeth Miller, Allison’s mom, was impressed by the university’s response.
“We were right by the altar, like right up front and the closest building is where they were ushering us in. It was like a stampede,” Elizabeth Miller said. “They were pushing me, we almost fell on the ground.”
“The people that organized the Mass were ushering us into the building, they gave us food, they locked us down,” she added. “They took care of us, they kept coming and giving us updates … I felt very safe with them.”
Corey Miller, Allison’s dad, also talked about how surreal it was.
“There were people falling down in the mud, crawling, falling over chairs,” he said. “Just trying to maintain order and move toward what turned out to be a secured building. It was the actual chapel that the Mass was taking place at.”
The dad also has some words to say to whoever is responsible for the hoax.
“Shame on you. This isn’t something you would expect in this country. I’m glad it turned out to be a hoax,” he said. “It’s a sad way to end a wonderful day. I’m relieved for everyone here on campus that hopefully everyone can go back to normal.”
The incoming freshman was still in complete shock.
“I just couldn’t believe that someone would do that. It’s actually insane,” Allison Miller said. “I heard other people at different colleges were experiencing the same thing.”
Villanova, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga each had false shooting threats
Before Villanova issued an alert for a possible active shooter on campus, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga issued an alert for a possible active shooter just after 1 p.m.
Hours later, UTC said the reported active shooter was “was determined to be a false threat.”
The post said there was no evidence of a shooting and no injuries were reported.
All classes and activities will resume at UTC on Friday.
Kerri Corrado,
Josh Sanders,
Joshua Sidorowicz,
Raymond Strickland,
Ben Payne and
Joe Holden
contributed to this report.
Tom Dougherty is a digital content producer for CBS Philadelphia. Before joining CBS Philadelphia, Tom covered sports for NBC Sports Philadelphia. He currently covers breaking news and sports.
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