Villanova University targeted in 2nd false active shooter report within 4 days

Villanova University was the victim of an active shooter hoax for the second time in less than a week — prompting a police sweep Sunday morning before authorities confirmed the threat was bogus, according to officials.

“Radnor Township Police Department is on location at Villanova University Austin Hall for a reported active shooter,” the department said in a social media post around 11:40 a.m.

“Law enforcement has confirmed the call to be false,” Radnor police added.

The false call was directed at Austin Hall, a student dormitory on the suburban Pennsylvanian campus, authorities said.

“The University was aware of a report concerning Austin Hall earlier this morning. The report was determined to be baseless, and Villanova Police have given the all clear,” a Villanova University spokesperson said in a statement to The Post.

Normal operations have since resumed at the university, the spokesperson added.

The baseless threat marks the second false shooter report sparking pandemonium at the private Augustinian Catholic University in less than a week.

On Thursday afternoon, authorities determined an active shooter report during new student move-in day was a “cruel hoax,” the school’s president said in a statement to the campus community.  

Students and visitors, including many families helping their children get settled, had been directed to shelter in place following what turned out to be a false alarm, according to Radnor police.

An alert from the university ordered everyone to avoid the law school’s Scarpa Hall, located on the West Campus near nine residence halls and a dining hall, according to a campus map. 

The report caused a large-scale response from local and federal police who conducted a swift sweep of the area while clad in tactical gear.

“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,” university president Rev. Peter Donohue wrote. 

Alarming videos posted to X showed frantic students and families running for their lives and toppling over chairs during an outdoor Mass that was being held to welcome the new students.

“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,” Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro wrote in a social media statement Thursday.

“Swatting is illegal. I’ve directed @PAStatePolice to work alongside their partners and use every tool at our disposal to find the person or people who called in this fake threat and hold them accountable,” he said.

There are roughly 1,770 students in the class of 2029, according to the university’s first-year admission profile. 

All students are supposed to start classes on Monday, according to the university’s academic calendar.

Earlier Thursday afternoon, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga was placed under lockdown after an unfounded active shooter alert.