Active Shooter Hoaxes At Villanova: What We Know

VILLANOVA, PA — A "cruel" hoax led to two hours of panic among residents in suburban Philadelphia and the community of a local university last week. And in an even sicker turn of events, another similar hoax was reported less than three days later at the same institution of higher learning.

Villanova University, its community, and neighbors were the victims of two active shooter hoaxes in just less than three days' time. Both incidents occurred as the school was welcoming students for the 2025-26 academic year.

The first incident happened at about 4:50 p.m. Thursday during move-in activities.

Radnor Township Police issued an alert regarding report of an active shooter on the school's campus, urging students and residents to shelter in place.

An orientation event was scheduled for Thursday night.

>>>Active Shooter At Villanova University A 'Cruel' Hoax in Photos<<<

From about 4:50 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., the university community and neighbors on the Main Line feared the community was the victim of a mass shooting.

According to Delaware County officials, the Department of Emergency Services got a call at 4:33 p.m. of shots fired from a man armed with an AR-15-style weapon on Villanova's campus. Shortly thereafter, Villanova's Department of Public Safety got an anonymous report of an active shooter in the Charles Widger School of Law.

Multiple calls featured gunshot-like sounds in the background, authorities said. These calls are under investigation, according to county officials.

At 5:06 p.m., first responders got a report of a gunshot wound, which out to be unfounded, officials said.

Ultimately, no one was hurt and there never was a shooter.

After a campus search, officials confirmed active shooter report as a hoax, that there was no firearm on campus, and that no injuries resulted from a shooting.

Villanova University President Rev. Peter M. Donohue called Thursday's incident a "cruel hoax," and during a blessing at the fall 2025 orientation event said the victims of the hoax were no longer strangers, bonded by a traumatic event.

"You may be sitting next to a stranger," he said to the crowd of students. "Because of this event today, we are not strangers anymore."

The incident drew local, county, state, and federal law enforcement to the Catholic university's campus.

But the sense of peace was short-lived, as the second hoax report of an active shooter came in Sunday morning.

Radnor Police officers were at Villanova's Austin Hall late in the morning after the school got a call about a possible threat.

Officials quickly identified this report as false, preventing large-scale panic among the school and the surrounding communities.

Sunday's events on Villanova's campus featured increased police presence due to the troubling hoaxes.

"I do not know why this is happening, but I assure you the authorities are working tirelessly to find out who is behind these calls," Donohue said in a letter to the community Sunday.

Federal, state and local authorities are investigating both incidents