VILLANOVA, Pa. (WPVI) — The lively shooter alert that pressured Villanova College college students to shelter in place on Thursday was a results of a merciless hoax,” in accordance with President Rev. Peter Donohue.
“Mercifully, nobody was injured, and we now know that it was a merciless hoax-there was no lively shooter, no accidents and no proof of firearms current on campus,” Donohue stated in a letter to college students.
In keeping with the college, the Division of Public Security acquired an nameless report of an lively shooter within the Charles Widger Faculty of Legislation round 4:30 p.m.
A safety alert was instantly issued, telling college students to lock and barricade doorways. Movies posted on social media confirmed a crowd being rushed inside a constructing on campus.
After an intensive search of the Pennsylvania campus, the incident was decided to be a hoax.
“We all know this false report induced worry and disruption as we start our educational yr. We’re deeply grateful to our Public Security staff, Radnor Police, native legislation enforcement, and our employees and pupil leaders for responding swiftly and compassionately. We’re grateful that our neighborhood is secure,” the college stated in an announcement.
District Legal professional Jack Stollsteimer vowed to trace these accountable.
“We’re all going to work to attempt to unravel who may need finished this. As a result of if this was certainly a merciless hoax. This can be a crime, and we are going to observe you down if it is the very last thing we do,” stated Stollsteimer.
Chopper 6 confirmed a number of emergency autos on the scene and armed officers milling about on the entrance of a parking storage. Legislation enforcement autos had been additionally lined up on the entrance to campus.
Brandon Ambrosino, a professor of theology and ethics at Villanova who was not on campus on the time, stated most school members weren’t on campus, however college students moved in on Wednesday. He stated he and colleagues had been struggling to search out details about the lively shooter in the course of the chaotic afternoon.
“None of my colleagues know what’s occurring. We’re messaging forwards and backwards,” Ambrosino stated.
Courtenay Harris Bond was strolling close to the legislation college along with her husband and her son, a freshman, when phrase unfold of the supposed capturing.
“Actually robust technique to begin freshman yr at school,” she stated shortly after being given the all-clear to depart the bookstore the place the household spent the lockdown.
The campus is situated roughly 12 miles northwest of Philadelphia’s Middle Metropolis.
The Augustinian college bought additional consideration this yr because the alma mater of recent Pope Leo XIV.
The Related Press and ABC Information contributed to this report.
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