Shooter On Villanova University Campus A Hoax

VILLANOVA, Pa. (AP) — A report of a shooter on Villanova University’s campus that sparked panic among students and drew a heavy police presence was a “cruel hoax,” the school’s president said Thursday.  Earlier in the afternoon, students had received a text from the Villanova alert system that told them to lock and barricade doors and move to secure locations. A second alert from Villanova officials warned people to stay away from the law school.  Radnor Township police posted on social media at about 5:45 p.m. that police were clearing buildings but said “at this time, there are NO reported victims.” They told people who were sheltering in place to remain where they were until an officer contacted them.  But the Rev. Peter M. Donohue said in a statement to the school community that there was no active shooter and that no one had been injured. He praised the law enforcement response and acknowledged that today’s events “have shaken our entire community.”  “Today, as we are celebrating Orientation Mass to welcome our newest Villanovans and their families to our community, panic and terror ensued with the news of a possible shooter at the Law School,” Donohue wrote. “Mercifully, no one was injured and we now know it was a cruel hoax.”