Leadership at Pope Leo XIV’s alma mater, Villanova University in Pennsylvania, confirmed Aug. 21 that a report of an active shooter from earlier in the day was a hoax — an announcement given several hours after police responded to the active shooter alert that put the campus on lockdown.
“We have discovered, through a lot of work, that this whole thing was a cruel hoax,” Father Peter Donohue, University President, said in an announcement on campus Aug. 21.
Someone called the university reporting an active shooter, and called other locations saying the same thing, Fr. Donohue said.
“We are safe, there is no shooter on campus, there is no evidence of any firearms, there’s no evidence of any person that is causing us any harm,” he added. “I am really sorry about this, it is a shame for all of us that it has happened.”
Pope Leo attended Villanova, where he earned a bachelor of science in mathematics, before he became a priest.
The university’s first year student Mass was set to begin at 4:15 pm Aug. 21. The university issued a notice of an active shooter at 4:34 pm, directing everyone to move to a secure location and lock and barricade doors. Police responded to the scene before 5 p.m. and conducted searches in the area.
An “all clear” was given at 6 p.m., and Fr. Donohue provided the update to campus half an hour later.
On its website, the university also confirmed that it would still hold a blessing for the community at 7 p.m. Aug. 21 on the Campus Green. Other orientation activities for Aug. 21 were canceled.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said in an Aug. 21 X post that “the reports of an active shooter at Villanova today are unfounded, and products of a cruel swatting incident — when someone calls in a fake threat to induce panic.”
He emphasized that swatting is illegal and state police will investigate the situation to determine who is responsible.
“I know today was every parent’s nightmare, and every student’s biggest fear,” Shapiro said. “I’m profoundly grateful no one was hurt, and thankful to all members of law enforcement who ran towards reports of danger to keep Pennsylvanians safe.”
Jack Stollsteimer, Delaware County District Attorney, told NBC10 Philadelphia that practically every local police department responded to the scene, as well as FBI and federal agencies.
He said tracing who made the call may be difficult, explaining that there are ways to disguise where calls come from, but that they intend to work to trace it and hold the perpetrator accountable.
“We’ll be working with both my office and our federal partners,” he said, adding, “and there possibly could be state and federal charges.”
The news outlet reported in a separate article that Stollsteimer warned the person who made the anonymous call, “We are coming to get you.”
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Author: McKenna Snow
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