A “cruel hoax” sent Villanova University students sheltering into place on the first day of orientation after a false report of an active shooter, the school’s president said, prompting a massive response by local and federal law enforcement as they worked to secure the campus.
No injuries were reported and no weapons were found, Peter M. Donohue, the university’s president, said in a letter sent to the campus community and obtained by CNN.
The first campus alert went out around 4:35 p.m. ET, during an opening mass, which was set to be followed by a family picnic.
“ACTIVE SHOOTER on VU campus. Move to secure location. Lock/barricade doors. More info to follow,” read an alert on the campus website.
“Panic and terror ensued” after the report, Donohue said in the letter.
Police and fire officials swarmed the area of the law school, with some armed officers on the roof, as they worked to clear buildings and look for a possible shooter or victims, video from CNN affiliate WPVI showed.
None were found.
Aerial view of Villanova University as police sweep through the campus. – WPVI
“While it is a blessing and relief, I know today’s events have shaken our entire community,” Donohue said in the letter sent just after 6 p.m.
He apologized to first-year students and their families.
“This is not the introduction to Villanova that I had hoped for you,” he said.
New student orientation and registration began Thursday and is scheduled to go until Saturday, while classes begin Monday, according to the school’s academic calendar.
Students shelter behind a wall at the Villanova University campus where an active shooter was reported. – Matt Slocum/AP
The reports came hours after the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga sent an active-shooter alert and the campus went on lockdown. Police later said the authorities found “no evidence of a threat.” Authorities are investigating the Tennessee incident as a possible case of swatting, a law enforcement source told CNN.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said he directed state police to “use every tool at our disposal” to find the person responsible for the swatting incident.
“I know today was every parent’s worse nightmare, and every student’s biggest fear,” Shapiro said in an X post. “I am profoundly grateful no one was hurt, and thankful to all members of law enforcement who ran towards reports of danger to keep Pennsylvanians safe.”
Villanova is a private Catholic university in the suburbs of Philadelphia and is the alma mater of Pope Leo XIV.
This story has been updated with additional information.
CNN’s Josh Campbell and Danny Freeman contributed to this report.
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