A second faux active shooter call was reported at Villanova University on Sunday morning, this time at Austin Hall, a student resident hall located on the Radnor campus.
Police quickly confirmed the call to be false.
It is the second time in four days that someone called in a false report of an active shooter on campus. Sunday morning’s scare comes on the heels of last week’s school lockdown that sent students and their families scrambling for cover.
Authorities continue to search for the person or people who called 911 claiming a gunman was on campus Thursday, causing panic as students and families attended an Orientation Mass. It was later determined to be a hoax.
“We are going to conduct a full investigation. Our federal partners are with us as well… We are going to work to get the bottom of who might have done this,” Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer told reporters on the scene following the first call. “Because if this was, indeed, a cruel hoax, this is a crime, and we will track you down if it’s the last thing we do.”
Shortly after 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 21, students received an active shooter alert to shelter in place and barricade doors. Swarms of local and state police rushed to the Radnor campus as the school and nearby neighborhoods went into lockdown. Videos circulated on social media of people running from the chaotic scene.
By 6 p.m., Villanova President Peter M. Donohue released a letter to families saying the incident was a “cruel hoax,” and there was no threat; soon after, police confirmed there was no shooter on campus and the lockdown was lifted.
“Today, as we are celebrating Orientation Mass to welcome our newest Villanovans and their families to our community, panic and terror ensued with the news of a possible shooter at the Law School. Mercifully, no one was injured, and we now know that it was a cruel hoax—there was no active shooter, no injuries and no evidence of firearms present on campus,” Donohue wrote in the letter.
Local and state police are working with federal authorities to trace the calls, investigators said.
Gov. Josh Shapiro has vowed to help law enforcement identify those responsible, using “every tool at our disposal.”
“I know today was every parent’s nightmare, and every student’s biggest fear,” Shapiro said in a statement on X. “I’m profoundly grateful no one was hurt, and thankful to all members of law enforcement who ran toward reports of danger to keep Pennsylvanians safe.”
Support and counseling services are being offered to all students in wake of the incidents.
