The University of Villanova said that a report of a possible shooter in its Law Faculty was a “cruel deception”, after issuing a warning of warning of an active shooter on its Pennsylvania campus on Thursday.
“Fortunately, no one was injured, and now we know that it was a cruel hoax, there was no active shooter, no injuries or evidence of firearms present on the campus,” said Villanova president, Reverend Peter Donohue, in a statement to the school community. “While that is a blessing and a relief, I know that today’s events have shaken our entire community.”
In this screenshot of a video, the officials responsible for enforcing the law are shown in the scene of a shooting at the University of Villanova, on August 21, 2025.
WPVI
The incident, which occurred when the school celebrated its guidance mass to welcome new students, caused a great application response of the local and federal law, and “panic and terror occurred,” Donohue said.
The school had issued an active alert of shooters, telling students to stay away from Scarpa Hall Hall Hall and locking and barricade doors while the police carried out sweeps from the campus.
Later it was updated to inform that the incident was resolved, saying: “The campus is clear. It no longer needs to take refuge in its place.”
In this screenshot of a video, the officials responsible for enforcing the law are shown in the scene of a shooting at the University of Villanova, on August 21, 2025.
WPVI
Delaware County District Prosecutor Jack Stollsteimer said his office and FBI will investigate.
“We are all going to work to try to get to the bottom of who could have done this,” he said during a press conference on Thursday night.
The governor of Pennsylvania, Josh Shapiro, said that Swatting is illegal, and that he has ordered the state of the state of Pennsylvania to “use all the tools at our disposal to find the person or people who called this false threat and hold them responsible.”
“I know that today was the nightmare of all parents, and the greatest fear of each student,” he said in a statement about X. “I am deeply grateful that no one has been injured, and grateful to all police members who ran towards danger reports to keep the Pennsilvanians safe.”
In this screenshot of a video, the officials responsible for enforcing the law are shown in the scene of a shooting at the University of Villanova, on August 21, 2025.
WPVI
Police received a call around 4:30 pm on Thursday saying that there was an active shooter in the Building of the Faculty of Law, and at least one victim was injured, according to Stollsteimer.
“That has turned out not to be true,” he said. “There was never an active shooter on campus.”
The police department of the municipality of Radnor, who responded to the campus, said there were no reported victims since the police continued to clear the buildings.
“It’s safe,” said the police superintendent of the municipality of Radnor, Christopher Flanagan, in the informative session. “At this time we are not informing injuries.”
He reiterated that such deceptions are a crime.
“This is a serious problem. It is a crime. It’s wrong. We are taking care of that,” he said.
The campus is located approximately 12 miles northwest of the central city of Philadelphia.
Another scare of infused active shooters occurred early at the University of Tennessee in Chattanooga.
Around 12:30 pm, a 911 call entered “indicating that there was an active shooter” on the campus, the school saying. The state agencies, from the county and federals responded, and the members of the school community were advised to “fight. Fight.”
After several areas of the campus were clear, there was no evidence of any shooting or injuries, the university said.
This incident is also under investigation by several agencies, including the FBI, the school said.
