Villanova says a report of a campus shooter was a 'cruel hoax'
[August 22, 2025]
By MICHAEL CASEY, HOLLY RAMER and MATT SLOCUM
VILLANOVA, Pa. (AP) — False reports of active shooters at Villanova
University and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga on Thursday
led to panic and temporary lockdowns at the two campuses as they kicked
off their fall semesters.
In Pennsylvania someone called 911 at about 4:30 p.m. reporting a
shooter in a Villanova law school building with at least one wounded
victim. Students received texts from the school's alert system saying
“ACTIVE SHOOTER on VU campus. Move to secure location. Lock/barricade
doors.”
The school's president later said it was a hoax.
“Today, as we are celebrating Orientation Mass to welcome our newest
Villanovans and their families to our community, panic and terror
ensued,” the Rev. Peter M. Donohue said in a statement. “Mercifully, no
one was injured and we now know it was a cruel hoax.”
About four hours earlier, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
locked down its campus, telling students: “Possible active shooter in
the University Center or Library. Run. Hide. Fight. More info
forthcoming.”
After multiple law enforcement agencies including the FBI responded
alongside local fire and emergency crews, the lockdown was lifted less
than an hour later. School officials said there was no evidence of any
threat.
At Villanova, where new student orientation was underway and classes
begin next week, a call came in reporting a man with an AR-15-style
weapon, Delaware County spokesperson Michael Connolly said in a
statement. There were also “multiple” calls with gunshot-like sounds in
the background, and about 30 minutes after the initial call, someone
called to report a gunshot wound.
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Police gather at the Villanova University campus where an active
shooter was reported Thursday, Aug. 21, 2025, in Villanova, Pa. (AP
Photo/Matt Slocum)
The initial report sent police scouring the campus and even had some
law enforcement officials suggesting they believed there was a
shooter.
“I know today was every parent’s nightmare and every student’s
biggest fear,” Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said on the social
platform X.
Shapiro told state police to use all tools available “to find the
person or people who called in this fake threat and hold them
accountable.”
Courtenay Harris Bond was walking near the law school with her
husband and son, a freshman, when word spread of the supposed
shooting.
“Really tough way to start freshman year at college,” she said
shortly after getting the all-clear to leave the bookstore where the
family spent the lockdown.
Villanova is a private Catholic university in the Philadelphia
suburbs. It borders Lower Merion Township and Radnor Township at the
center of the city’s wealthy Main Line neighborhoods.
The Augustinian school got extra attention this year as the alma
mater of new Pope Leo XIV.
___
Casey reported from Boston, and Ramer from Concord, New Hampshire.
Associated Press journalists Mark Scolforo in Harrisburg,
Pennsylvania; Mingson Lau and Tassanee Vejpongsa in Villanova;
Patrick Whittle in Portland, Maine; Jonathan Mattise in Nashville,
Tennessee; and Hallie Golden in Seattle contributed.
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