Villanova says a report of a campus shooter was a 'cruel hoax'

VILLANOVA, Pa. (AP) — False reports of progressive shooters astatine Villanova University and the University of Tennessee astatine Chattanooga connected Thursday led to panic and impermanent lockdowns astatine the 2 campuses arsenic they disconnected their autumn semesters.

In Pennsylvania idiosyncratic called 911 astatine astir 4:30 p.m. reporting a shooter successful a Villanova instrumentality schoolhouse gathering with astatine slightest 1 wounded victim. Students received texts from the school's alert strategy saying “ACTIVE SHOOTER connected VU campus. Move to unafraid location. Lock/barricade doors.”

The school's president aboriginal said it was a hoax.

“Today, arsenic we are celebrating Orientation Mass to invited our newest Villanovans and their families to our community, panic and panic ensued,” the Rev. Peter M. Donohue said successful a statement. “Mercifully, nary 1 was injured and we present cognize it was a cruel hoax.”

About 4 hours earlier, the University of Tennessee astatine Chattanooga locked down its campus, telling students: “Possible progressive shooter successful the University Center oregon Library. Run. Hide. Fight. More info forthcoming.”

After aggregate instrumentality enforcement agencies including the FBI positive section occurrence and exigency crews responded, the lockdown was lifted little than an hr later. School officials said determination was nary grounds of immoderate threat.

At Villanova, wherever caller pupil predisposition was underway and classes statesman adjacent week, the archetypal study sent constabulary scouring the field and adjacent had immoderate instrumentality enforcement officials suggesting they believed determination was a shooter.

““He’s successful 1 of these buildings. Law enforcement for the full tri-state country is here. And we are going doorway to door, country to country if we person to, to instrumentality this concern nether power and to marque this field safe,” Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer told WPVI-TV.

At a quality league later, Stollsteimer said authorities volition behaviour a afloat investigation.

“If this was so a cruel hoax, this is simply a crime,” helium said.

“This is each parent’s nightmare, right? You’re sending your kid disconnected to college, sometimes for their archetypal day, and you get an alert that determination could beryllium a shooter connected the campus,” helium said.

Courtenay Harris Bond was walking adjacent the instrumentality schoolhouse with her hubby and son, a freshman, erstwhile connection dispersed of the expected shooting.

“Really pugnacious mode to commencement freshman twelvemonth astatine college,” she said soon aft being fixed the all-clear to permission the bookstore wherever the household spent the lockdown.

Villanova is simply a backstage Catholic assemblage successful the Philadelphia suburbs. It borders Lower Merion Township and Radnor Township astatine the halfway of the city’s affluent Main Line neighborhoods.

The Augustinian schoolhouse got other attraction this twelvemonth arsenic the alma mater of caller Pope Leo XIV.

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